The Hands of Fate
by It's Almost A Secret
Summary: Two sisters were separated by the hands of fate at a young age. Now more than a decade has passed, and it will take a lot to drive them back together, especially when one cannot even remember that the other exists.
1. Prologue

Elsa ran.

The rhythmic pounding of her footfalls echoed off the pavement as her breath rose up in puffs in the cold night air. The dark streets around her lay deserted. The only sources of light were the lamps along the main street, and Elsa followed them blindly, unsure of where she even meant to go. All she knew was that she couldn't look back.

The image flashed through her mind again; Anna lying still on the ballroom floor. Anna, who had been Elsa's constant friend and companion, whose laughs were always filled with mirth and her eyes with adventure and mischief. She had been bubbly and sweet and full of life, and now she was nothing but cold.

Elsa shook her head to clear away the thought. Soon they would know. Soon they would all know; her parents, the household staff, the entire kingdom. They would know that Anna was dead, and that Elsa was a murderer, a _monster._

How could she have been so careless? Her parents had warned her constantly about the potential dangers her powers posed. Why hadn't she listened to them? She should never have given in to Anna's plea. _Do you want to build a snowman?_ One stupid mistake had cost her everything. She couldn't bear to face her parents now. How could she?

The wind was beginning to whip up around Elsa, but she barely noticed it as she sprinted onwards. All she wanted was to be as far away from the castle, and the memory of what she had done, as possible. There was ice forming beneath her feet now. She slipped but managed to catch herself, her slippered feet skidding a bit on the suddenly slick ground.

Eventually she came to the edge of the water. She stared down at her reflection. Her eyes were red and puffy from tears and her hair had whipped itself into a disheveled mess. Unwilling to look at herself anymore, she turned her gaze towards the mountains. Even on a warm spring night like this one they were capped in snow like frosted cupcakes. Elsa suddenly felt a longing to reach them. If she could just reach the mountains she would be safe. Or perhaps others would be safe from her.

Elsa placed a tentative foot on the surface of the water, willing her powers to obey her. The ice formed almost immediately, more than strong enough to hold her weight. Without a second thought, she took another step, and then another, picking up speed as she made her way across. Arendelle was behind her now, and she didn't so much as glance back at it as she disappeared into the night.

**I realize this is rather short, but it's only a prologue and the coming chapters will be a lot longer. I also realize that a couple of other people seem to be tackling AU fics where Elsa runs away as a kid, but I've been working on this for a while now and plan to post it anyway. Updates will probably be fairly frequent. See you next time. **


	2. Chapter 1

Anna sighed as she glanced out over the frozen landscape of Arendelle. The sky was cloudy and white, as it always was. There was a light flurry falling, blanketing the kingdom in fresh ice and snow. It had been this way for as long as Anna could remember. Sure, she'd heard stories about the way the land had been before. There had been warm summers, springtime with its fragrant flowers, and autumn, when the leaves would change their colors and fall to the ground. Yet all of this seemed fantastical to Anna, who had only ever known the winter snow. For whatever reason, she had no memory at all of the first few years of her life. Her parents had once told her it was due to a head injury she'd received as a child.

She sat back for a moment, rubbing the chill from her elbows where she'd had them propped against the cold mahogany pane of her bedroom window. Some said a curse had descended upon Arendelle. The snow had apparently first come when Anna was very young, only 4 or 5 years old. At first, the people had thought it was only a bit of strange weather, the snow in July, but, as the months wore on and the seasons changed, it had never melted. Anna was 18 years old now, and the snow that blanketed the ground had been the same for over a decade.

Though there had been much speculation about a curse, none could explain where it had come from. Arendelle was not a noted place of magic, and sorcery was a very rare gift. If the snow had been the act of a witch or sorcerer, to what end had they caused it?

Despite the air of mystery surrounding the situation, Anna's parents, the king and queen, had done all they could to help their subjects. No one had been truly prepared for the cold, so the royal household and their staff had handed out blankets, food, firewood, and whatever other commodities they could to a kingdom in need. It had been the hardest for the first year, when the crops died and the normal supply and demand of an entire kingdom faltered. Yet as time wore on, they'd learned to make do. Those who could not tolerate the cold had moved on to greener pastures, and those who still called Arendelle their home had adjusted to their frozen existence.

And yet, through it all and in spite of all the aid they'd offered their subjects, Anna had always had a sneaking suspicion that her parents had known more about the situation than they'd let on. More than once she'd walked in on them speaking in hushed and frantic whispers that would stop the moment she entered the room. Some nights she'd catch her mother crying silently by the window, but she'd dry her eyes and deny it when Anna asked her what was wrong. And they were always going off on expeditions and leaving Anna at home with the staff. They told her they were going to try to find the cause of the curse, that they would return with the way to bring back summer, but they always came back empty handed, and it was one such expedition that had cost them their lives in the end.

Anna could remember the day like it was yesterday. Her parents had been packing for weeks. The trip they were embarking on would be longer than any they'd taken before; they'd be crossing an ocean before they reached their destination. Anna had been twelve at the time. She had begged them not to go again, but, as with every time before, they merely gave her a speech about their responsibilities and duties to the kingdom. And, as with every time before, Anna could not shake the suspicion that they were hiding something from her.

That had been the last time she'd seen them. There had been a storm, and their ship had sunk at sea. When she'd received the news, Anna had not known how to react. To be suddenly and completely alone in the world at the age of twelve was almost more than she could handle. Being an only child with parents who were constantly busy had been a lonely enough existence, but now to have nothing at all...

After the accident, with the king and queen gone and their heir still years away from taking the throne, the reigns of rule had been turned over to a regent, with the understanding that they would pass to Anna when she finally came of age. Anna herself had no particular feelings about the regent. His name was Hans, and he was the youngest son to the royal family of the Southern Isles. Unhappy with his lot in life, he had come to Arendelle and found a place on her parents' council. He had apparently made quite a good impression, for when it came time to select a temporary ruler from among themselves, the council's vote for Hans had been nearly unanimous.

The kingdom had done well enough under Hans' rule. Coming from a royal family as he did, he seemed at least familiar with the responsibilities of running a kingdom. He was never less than kind to Anna either, though she didn't really associate with him much. Despite his demeanor there was always something about Hans that unsettled Anna. She supposed it might be due to the fact that he was sitting on what was once her father's throne.

It was this general lack of interaction between them that had Anna wondering why he suddenly wanted to speak to her. A servant had summoned her only a little while ago with the message that Prince Hans required her in his study. It was quite out of the blue, and Anna couldn't imagine what it was about. Sure, it had been her birthday just last week, but Hans had been present at her party and, besides that, had never gone out of his way to wish her happy birthday before.

Still feeling a bit perplexed, Anna rose off of her bed and smoothed the wrinkles from the skirt of her dress as best she could. She hoped whatever this was about wouldn't take too long. Not that she really had anything better to be doing. For someone who would be ruling a country one day, she had surprisingly little freedom. She was seldom allowed out of the castle, and when she did go into town it was with a veritable platoon of guards surrounding her.

She knew that this had all been on her parents' orders. They'd always been extremely protective of Anna. Yet such treatment meant that from a very young age she'd been very lonely and very, very bored. The servants and household staff had been the only people she'd ever really interacted with, and there had been no one her own age.

Anna had never felt too strongly about becoming queen. For some reason she'd never felt as though she were meant for the job, and the busy life of duty and responsibility that awaited her did not truly appeal to her free-spirited nature. Yet, if nothing else, she looked forward to the day of her coronation because it would mean her _freedom,_ and a chance to finally go where she pleased without a dozen or so heavily armed men trailing at her back.

Anna made her way across the palace to Hans's study, a journey that took almost a full ten minutes because she'd nearly forgotten the way, and paused to knock outside his door. A muffled, "Come in," reached her a moment later.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious, Anna slipped inside and shut the door behind her. The study was a large room, with a wide bay-view window revealing the snowy world outside the palace walls. Hans was seated behind his desk, his hands folded in front of him, looking the picture of dignified nobility. Anna fidgeted a bit under his gaze.

"Please, Princess Anna, have a seat," he said, gesturing to a comfortable-looking armchair beside his desk.

Anna did not have to be told twice as she crossed the room and nearly fell into the seat. She tried to remember the proper, ladylike way to sit, but for all of her grooming she'd never exactly been graceful. Once she'd situated herself as best she could, she cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "You uh- you wanted to see me?"

Hans smiled at her and, though it was not unkind, it did not quite reach his eyes. "I merely wanted to wish you a happy birthday Princess. Eighteen is an important age."

Anna was a bit taken aback at this, but she recovered herself quickly. "Oh uh-, yes. I mean, I've only been eighteen for about a week now, but I'm sure it's a good age," she responded with a forced smile. She nearly winced a bit at how uncomfortable the conversation was. She sent a sidelong glance towards the door, hoping he would allow her to leave soon.

Hans continued, "I'm sure you know, though you are not yet of an age to take the throne, you are now of an age to marry."

This caught Anna's attention. Her gaze swiveled back immediately and fixed itself on Hans' face. He seemed completely serious.

Unsure of where he was going with this, Anna eyed Hans and said carefully, "Yes, I suppose that's true."

Hans smiled again. "I have a proposition for you Princess Anna, one I believe will benefit the kingdom of Arendelle immensely." He paused for a moment here, as though waiting for Anna to offer some kind of response. When she gave none he continued, "As you know, I have spent the past six years taking care of this country, and in that time I have amassed a great amount of knowledge about your kingdom and the way it is run. I could, of course, stay on in an advisory capacity once you ascend the throne, but I believe I can offer an even better suggestion."

He paused again, and Anna could feel his eyes searching her face for a reaction. He went on, "I propose a marriage, Princess, between the two of us. I am, as you know, a Prince of the Southern Isles, and our marriage would strengthen the bond between our two nations. In addition, I have already gained the trust and support of the people of Arendelle. I am a familiar face, the one who has taken care of this kingdom for years, and surely the news of our wedding would bring nothing but joy to your subjects. Then, when you come of age in two years time, we will ascend the throne together as king and queen."

By the time Hans had finished his speech, Anna was struck dumb. It was true that she had thought of marriage before. Yet when she'd imagined it, there had always been a handsome stranger, courtship, romance. For the entirety of her sheltered teenage years, Anna had dreamed of being swept off her feet, of finding true love. To hear such a formal proposal of marriage, from _Hans_ of all people, made it feel like a grip had suddenly tightened around her heart.

Anna opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Hans was watching her, his expression completely calm and collected, as though he had simply asked what she thought of a new tie rather than for her hand in marriage.

After a few moments of watching Anna struggle with speech, Hans said, "I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I will, of course, give you some time to think over all that I have proposed."

Finally, Anna regained control of her facilities in time to choke out one word, "No."

Hans looked at her as though he believed he was hearing things. "I'm sorry?" he said.

The words were coming more easily now as Anna felt herself getting more worked up. "I can't marry you," she said, indignant, "you're twice my age!"

Hans' face softened and he began to speak as though he were addressing a very small child, "Princess, I'm sure you know that royal marriages are often arranged with large gaps in age. The benefits of the union must be taken into-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Anna cut him off again, a bit more forcefully this time, "No!" She sprang out of her chair, bumping her leg against one of the arm rests and stumbling a bit as she backed away towards the door.

Hans stood up from behind his desk, still trying to coax her. "Princess Anna, you don't understand. You're just a bit surprised. I'm sure if you just take some time to think about it, you'll see how much this marriage could benefit both you and your kingdom!"

Anna reached the door, fumbled for the handle and wrenched it open. "No, you don't understand," she said, raising her voice perhaps a bit more than she should have. The members of the household staff that were passing through the hallway turned toward the source of the commotion. "I'm not marrying you. Who I marry, and who becomes my king, is a decision that I intend to have a say in!"

She spun around again to look back at Hans. His cool demeanor had finally broken and his face was turning a strange shade of red. He might have called something else after her retreating back, but Anna had already disappeared down the hall.

**So I thought I would post another chapter quickly, since the first was very short and didn't really give a feel for where the story was going at all. Hopefully this one proves a bit more interesting. Things will start to pick up even more in the next couple of chapters. **


	3. Chapter 2

Anna woke with a start as a hand on her shoulder gently shook her awake. She nearly cried out, but someone placed a hand over her mouth. Looking up, she saw Gerda, one of the maids who had practically raised her after her parents' death, place a finger over her lips.

"Gerda? What's going on?" Anna whispered as Gerda removed her hand. It was pitch black, still the middle of the night. Anna looked around for a sign that something was amiss, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Anna, we need to get you out of the castle," she whispered urgently. It would normally be unheard of for a maid to refer to her princess so informally, but years as a surrogate mother had afforded a strong sense of familiarity between the two.

Anna wasn't sure what to make of this. "What? What are you talking about?" she asked, pulling herself out from under the covers. For a moment she thought maybe this was some kind of joke, but Gerda was not the joking type.

Gerda glanced around, as though afraid they would be overheard. "It's Prince Hans. He's planning to poison you," she whispered urgently, "I wasn't supposed to know, but I heard it from one of the kitchen girls. He's been plotting it ever since you turned down his marriage proposal."

Anna gasped. She'd almost forgotten about that. It had been almost two months ago that she'd denied Hans' request for her hand, and in that time she'd hardly seen or spoken to him. She'd suspected that he was nursing some sort of hard feelings about it, but she'd never imagined he'd go so far as to wish harm upon her.

Gerda continued, "He doesn't want to give up the throne. He was thirteenth in line in his own country, and he likes the power he's found for himself here. He wanted to become the official king through marriage, but since you've turned him down he wants you out of the way.

Anna tried not to panic as her mind attempted to process this new information, "B-but, what will getting me out of the way accomplish. It's not like Hans is next in line."

Gerda shook her head. "Think about it Anna. With every member of the royal family gone, who do you think will step up and take the throne? Your cousin would have been next in line, but she's the heir to the throne in her own country as well. Hans has spent six years ruling Arendelle; with you out of the way it would almost certainly be decided that his reign should continue," said Gerda.

Anna could feel her heart beating against her chest. She didn't resist as Gerda took her hand and pulled her out of bed. She felt as though any moment she might wake from this horrible nightmare.

But now Gerda was speaking again, "We need to hurry. The other servants won't be up for a couple of hours yet. We need to get you out of here without being seen." She handed Anna a warm dress and a heavy coat as she spoke, and Anna began to change as if in a daze.

Once Anna was dressed, Gerda thrust a heavy rucksack into her arms and said, "There should be enough provisions in there for a week's journey, and enough money for a lot more. "

Gerda stuck her head out into the hallway and, deciding the coast was clear, motioned for Anna to follow. As they made their way down the hall, she continued, "You need to get to safety. If you can, seek help from a neighboring kingdom. Do not reveal who you are to anyone until you are safely out of Arendelle. We don't know who is under Hans' control or how far his reach extends."

Anna's head was still spinning. She was a fugitive within her own kingdom, not safe within her own home. As she snuck quietly down the halls she'd grown up in, she felt the sharp prick of tears gathering behind her eyes.

Gerda seemed to have noticed this, and she spun Anna around and took her by the shoulders, "You need to be strong Anna," she said, her face stern, "You need to think of your kingdom, your legacy, your _throne_. Remember your parents and your-" Here she stopped, looking at Anna with wide eyes as though she'd almost let slip a terrible secret. Anna had seen this look before. She'd seen it from her parents and from other members of the household staff ever since she was a little girl. At times she felt as though the entire world was hiding something from her. Yet these were paranoid thoughts, and Gerda had already continued speaking, "You can reclaim all you've lost, but you need to stay strong above all else."

Anna nodded, biting her lip to keep herself from sobbing. Gerda's expression softened and she pulled Anna into a hug, "I'm so sorry this happened Anna. I wish I could come with you, but I'm too old and would only slow you down."

Anna sniffled a little. "But won't he know you helped me escape?" she asked.

Gerda shook her head and responded, "No, I told you, I wasn't even supposed to know about the plan. He may suspect that you had assistance but he'll have no proof. It should all be fine as long as I keep my head down for a while."

They continued moving. Anna had assumed they were headed for the front door, but Gerda tugged her down a side hallway towards the staff's quarters. The going was a bit more treacherous now, as there were more people housed in this part of the castle, but as Gerda had predicted they were all still asleep. They continued on, making their way into parts of the castle Anna was not even entirely sure she'd seen before. Finally, they stopped midway down a dark corridor, facing a stretch of stone wall.

Anna was confused, "Gerda-," she began.

Gerda cut her off, "There are secrets to this castle that few know," she said. She placed her hands against the wall and slid them around for a moment, as though searching for something. After a few seconds of this, she seemed to have found what she was looking for and gave a slight push. The stone gave beneath her hands and a section of the stone wall, roughly the size of a doorway, spun inwards to reveal a dark corridor.

Seeing Anna's shocked expression, Gerda explained, "I have been working for your family for a long time. There are things your parents entrusted to me, and it's no coincidence that I was set to care for you after their passing. It has always been my job to keep you safe."

Anna could feel tears in her eyes again, and she wrapped Gerda in another tight hug. When they broke away, Gerda pressed a small iron key into her hand and said, "This key will unlock the door at the end of the passage. Now go. This passageway will put you just outside the castle walls. Once you reach the end, keep your face covered and head for the mountains. Don't stop to talk to anyone for any reason. Just keep your head down and keep moving."

Anna merely nodded. As she stared into the depths of the dark tunnel before her, the weight of what she was being asked to do began to settle heavy on her shoulders. Gerda kissed her forehead and said, "Stay safe. We will see each other again."

With that, Anna took two steps forward into the passageway, and the door shut behind her, leaving her in complete darkness.

For a moment Anna couldn't move. She felt as though she were going to suffocate, as though the weight of the night's events had finally become too heavy and threatened to crush her very will to live. But then, slowly, her eyes adjusted, and she could just make out the stone walls of the tunnel. She began to walk.

Anna walked on in the dark silence for what seemed like an eternity. She didn't allow her thoughts to wander, she simply focused on the task ahead and put one foot in front of the other. Some time later, she felt her foot strike something hard, and she stumbled. She threw out her hands to break her fall, and found that what she had bumped against was the bottom step of a stone stairway. Picking herself back up, she began to climb it, keeping her hands out in front of her in search of unseen obstacles.

She could see light peaking in from between the cracks of what appeared to be wooden cellar doors at the top of the stairs. Heartened by the sight of her journey's end, Anna picked up her pace slightly. When she reached the doors, she removed the key from her pocket and fumbled around in the dark until she found the keyhole. She heard the lock click, placed her palms flat against the doors and pushed with all her might. They strained slightly but, after a moment's struggle, finally flew open and Anna felt herself able to breath fresh air once more.

Anna stepped out of the passageway. As Gerda had promised, she found herself about a mile away from the southernmost wall of the castle. It was a cold night, as it always was in Arendelle, and Anna pulled her jacket tighter around herself to ward off the chill. She carefully closed the cellar doors, finding that they blended into the ground rather convincingly. Had Anna not known they were there, she might not have noticed them. Kneeling, she found another keyhole on the outside and re-locked the doors, placed the key back into her pocket for safe keeping, and stood.

It suddenly dawned on Anna that this was the first time she'd been outside the palace walls without an entourage. The irony almost made her laugh. All those times she'd wished the guards would let her go off on her own, yet now here she was and she would have given anything to have someone with her. She turned and took one last glance back at the castle that had been her home for eighteen years, and then she began to walk.

The going was tougher than she'd expected. Though her boots were thick and warm, as all clothing in Arendelle had become, they were not made for hiking, and so she found herself slipping more than once as she made her way towards the mountains. Luckily, she had come up on the outskirts of town, and so did not come across any other people. Still, she kept herself alert, too afraid to let her guard down. Gerda had seemed so genuinely worried about the people of Arendelle turning her over to Hans. Had they really given him their loyalty over their own princess?

The sun was beginning to come up. Arendelle's castle sparkled in the early morning light. How would its inhabitants react when they woke in the morning to find her gone? Would Hans send men out to hunt for her? The thought brought a sudden fear with it, and Anna pressed on.

Truthfully she had no idea where she was going. She had a general sense of the lay of the land around her kingdom, she'd seen maps, but there was no way for her to even tell what direction she was headed. All she had were Gerda's words of advice: head toward the mountains. So that was what she would do for now. She would figure the rest out when she was sure she was safe.

After some time Anna came to a forest. She had no idea how far she'd traveled, or for how long, but when she glanced back Arendelle was no longer visible behind her. All that was visible now was snow and ice as far as the eye could see. After a moment, she pressed on into the trees.

A twig snapped under Anna's boot, causing her to jump. She glanced around again, shaken by the sudden noise in the otherwise silent forest, but there was no other living in creature in sight. Despite her jumpiness, Anna noted that the forest really was quite beautiful, with the snow clinging to the barren branches of the trees. She had never seen a tree in person before, but she'd seen them in paintings. Even the snow looked prettier here, and Anna had seen more snow than most.

Another noise caused Anna to jump, but this time it hadn't come from her. She froze in place, straining her ears for any other signs of danger. Surely it was just some sort of small woodland creature, but it did pay to be careful. Anna was about to continue on her way again, but felt her blood run cold as the low, mournful sound of a wolf's howl pierced the morning air.

For a moment she was unsure of how to react, before instinct took over and she simply started running. After a moment another howl sounded, closer this time. She could hear the pounding of paws behind her, and the ragged sound of their panting breaths. Unable to help herself, Anna glanced back, and saw six large, grey wolves giving chase. While her attention was focused behind her, her foot snagged a tree root and she went down, sprawling on the forest floor.

The wolves were almost on top of her now, and the shock of her fall left Anna too disoriented to get back on her feet. As they closed on her, Anna shut her eyes tight and curled in on herself, bracing for the impact.

It never came. Just as the first wolf pounced, a large clump of snow fell from a nearby tree and caught him in mid-air, dragging him back to the ground. The others skidded to a halt behind their pack leader and sniffed the air. Anna scrambled back on her palms, watching the wolves with wide eyes. They seemed to sense something. They looked off somewhere to their right, back to Anna once more, and then turned tail and left.

Anna let out a strangled gasp, unable to believe her luck. She glanced to the right, in the direction the wolves had been looking, and did a double take. It was strange, for a moment she thought she'd seen a girl there. Stranger still, she'd been dressed in nothing but a light gown despite the freezing chill. Yet by the time Anna looked back, she'd vanished.


	4. Chapter 3

The snow crunched under Elsa's heels as she ran. It was the first time she'd experienced such fear in years. The wind was picking up around her and she took a deep breath, willing her emotions under control. She paused for a moment to regain her bearings, and the storm inside her calmed. The air stilled.

It had been a long time since Elsa's powers had gotten the better of her. Out in the mountains it was only her, and she rarely felt strong enough emotion to cause a break in her control. In fact, it had been so long since she'd had problems controlling herself that Elsa had begun to believe that she'd finally mastered her powers completely. Yet here they were again, rising up unbidden at the first sign of fear. Perhaps there was no hope for her after all.

Elsa glanced back over her shoulder, but luckily the girl had not followed her. She didn't know what had possessed her to intervene like that. She knew what could have happened if she'd been spotted. The last thing she needed was for someone to see her using her powers. There would be a witch hunt within the week. Else had managed to live undisturbed in the mountains for years, and that was how she would prefer it stayed.

Yet she hadn't been able to help herself. Something had stirred within her when she'd seen that helpless young girl get attacked. She'd felt almost protective. After all, was she just supposed to let the poor girl die? Not that it wouldn't serve her right. What kind of idiot went wandering about in the mountains alone? _Besides me_, Elsa thought to herself.

But she and the wolves had reached an understanding long ago. It had happened on one of her first journeys into the forest. She'd been attacked as well, but she'd been perfectly able to defend herself. Ever since they'd gotten a taste of what her powers could do, the wolves had steered clear of her and she of them. She almost never interfered in their hunting. But then, she almost never saw other humans this far up the mountain either.

In truth though, she had wandered a bit farther down than she usually did this morning. Normally Elsa would have stayed closer to the castle, but she had been lost in thought and not paying attention to where her feet were taking her. Sometimes she walked for hours. She had nothing else to do, and the cold, empty halls of her castle became unbearable if she stayed in for too long. Still, Elsa reminded herself, it was for the best. It was the only way to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else.

And anyway, murderers weren't supposed to lead happy lives.

She still remembered that night. It still haunted her dreams, sometimes to the point where she wouldn't sleep for days. Anna was dead and she, Elsa, was still alive. It was proof enough that the world wasn't fair.

Elsa didn't often let her mind drift back to the past these days, but that was where her thoughts took her now. For some reason, she found herself oddly nostalgic. She wondered what her parents were doing and whether they ever thought about her. She wondered if they'd ever had other children. After all, with both Elsa and Anna gone, the kingdom would be in need of an heir. They'd all be better off without Elsa on the throne anyway. She was not the type of leader any country deserved to be saddled with.

Elsa flicked her wrist absentmindedly as she walked, the snow swirled around her, this time at her command. She watched it with a faint smile on her face, enjoying the feeling of control. As she watched her snowflakes fall, an old memory bubbled its way up to the surface of her mind.

_Elsa's strange powers hadn't been obvious from the time she was born, but they had made their presence known when she was still very young. It had been a clear spring day and Elsa had been four years old. As was the normal state of affairs, she was tottering around the castle with the shadow that was her baby sister close behind. Anna's chubby legs were still a bit slow and uncoordinated at the tender age of two, but Elsa always stopped and waited patiently for her younger sister to catch up._

_This particular day found them in the hall outside of their shared bedroom. They'd been out there for hours, playing all manner of pretend (or rather Elsa had been playing pretend and explaining most of what was going on to her baby sister). Elsa delighted in having a playmate. She had been skeptical at first when Anna had appeared on the scene. The baby had been small and wrinkly and rather useless, and she'd monopolized all of their parents' time. Yet now that Anna was learning to walk and talk, the two had become almost inseparable. _

_They were playing knights now. Elsa had started out with the intent that they would both be enemy knights locked in an epic duel, but Anna had proved that she had no code of honor and had simpy taken to whacking Elsa with her stick-sword with reckless abandon, even though that wasn't how you were supposed to play sword fight. _

_So Elsa had relented. Anna was the knight and Elsa was her trusty steed. The two went barreling down the hall, both giggling madly as Elsa raced about with Anna on her back. _

"_Faster horsey!" Anna shouted, hugging Elsa tighter around the neck. _

_At her sister's request, Elsa began to pick up speed, but in the process she leaned too far forward. Before she knew it, they were both toppling over. Elsa shrieked and put her hands out in front of her to brace for the fall, but to her surprise something cushioned it._

_She sat up and blinked, glancing over at Anna, who had rolled off of Elsa's back to land next to her. There were snowflakes in their hair, Elsa realized. Somehow they had landed in a snowbank. _

_Anna didn't seem phased by the impossibility of the circumstance. "Do it again!" she said excitedly, looking at her sister with wide, excited eyes. _

_Elsa didn't even know how she'd done it the first time, but she tried to comply with Anna's request. Screwing up her face in concentration, she tried to replicate the magic she'd just performed. It took a few tries, but finally another pile of fresh, fluffy snow appeared before them._

_Young as they were, the trifling matter of where the magic had come from or what it meant did not concern them. They only knew that it was snowing in their hallway, and they were going to take advantage of that fact. _

_It was over an hour before anyone happened upon them. One of the household staff had found them, and in her alarm had called for their parents. Both girls had been confused by the maid's frightened reaction. They'd only been having a bit of fun. _

_Their parents arrived minutes later with matching looks of shock and fear on their faces. Though she had been young at the time, Elsa had never forgotten that look. _

_Anna was shivering by this point and her lips had turned slightly blue. Elsa had failed to realize that the cold affected her little sister in a way it did not affect her. Anna had come down with a cold, and she and Elsa had not been able to play together for almost a week. In that time, their parents had spoken to Elsa almost non-stop about her powers and their dangers and implications. They told her to be careful and to use them as little as possible. _

_Yet the moment Anna was better, all she'd wanted was to see Elsa's ice magic again and, though her parents had warned Elsa against it, that incident became the first of many secret snowball fights and midnight romps in the snow. _

Elsa could feel a strange wetness on her cheeks. She touched her fingers to them and realized that at some point she'd started crying. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. It never paid for her to dwell in the past for too long. It only made the return to her cold and bitter present all the more difficult.

She'd loved her powers once, long ago, but that had been before they'd betrayed her. It had been back when she could share them with Anna, the only other person who seemed to love Elsa's snow and ice as much as Elsa did. But Elsa's powers had betrayed them both in the end, and there was no going back from that.

* * *

It took Anna a bit of time to regain her bearings. She could feel the cold snow seeping into her dress, but she felt as though she were frozen in place and unable to get back up. Even after she'd finally managed to stand, it took some time before her hands would stop shaking. She'd known that being on her own in the mountains might be dangerous, but there was nothing like first hand experience. She couldn't even believe how lucky she was to be alive.

Anna decided that the best thing to do for the moment would be to get out of the forest as quickly as possible, lest that pack of wolves change their mind and come back for another round. Brushing the excess snow off of her dress, she began walking again, though now feeling considerably more ill at ease.

She walked on for another twenty minutes or so without incident. She was just starting to relax a bit when she became aware of a strange noise in the distance, a sort of loud thump. As she moved toward the source of disturbance, Anna became aware of another sound as well. It sounded like someone grunting with effort. It was a human voice.

Anna was so excited by the prospect of finding another human being, she nearly forgot that she had a reason to be wary of them. She slowed her pace and made her way carefully toward the source of the noises, keeping out of sight behind the trees as best she could. It wasn't long before she found what she was searching for.

He was a young man, perhaps a year or two older than she was, with shaggy blond hair. The thumping sound was coming from the axe he held. He was swinging repeatedly at the tree in front of him, obviously intent on felling it. Beside him was some kind of large, antlered animal; a moose or an elk or something like it. Anna was too far away to be certain.

Anna watched him for a few more minutes, her face barely peeking out from behind a tree. He was the first man her age she'd seen in practically her entire life. Before she could stop it, the thought that he was rather attractive rose unbidden to her mind, and she felt a bit of a blush creeping into her cheeks. Shaking her head to clear it of these thoughts, Anna watched the young man work for a minute longer before she decided he most likely meant her no harm. He probably wasn't even from Arendelle. His gruff (and slightly unwashed) demeanor actually suggested that he lived up in the mountains, or at least spent a good deal of time there. It was possible he might be able to point her in the direction of a nearby town.

"Excuse me," Anna called, making her way toward the young man. He didn't seem to hear her though, and continued hacking away at the tree without turning around. Anna tried again, a bit louder this time, "Excuse me!"

The young man started and whipped around with a cry of "Woah!" He raised the axe over his head as if ready to strike, and Anna backed up a bit, hands up in a defensive position. The young man relaxed a moment later. He lowered his axe and began rubbing his temple with his free hand.

Anna resisted the urge to giggle at his over reaction. Instead she smiled a bit and said, "Sorry."

The young man looked up, obviously still a bit shaken. "I could have taken your head off. Don't you know better than to sneak up on people like that? Were you raised in a barn or something?"

Anna was a bit indignant. "No I-" she opened her mouth to quip about how she'd actually been raised in a castle, but Gerda's words of warning echoed in her head. "-I wasn't," she finished lamely. The young man shifted his eyes back and forth for a moment, as though trying to decide if Anna was crazy.

"Okay then...well what are you doing way out here? This isn't really the best place to be wandering around on your own," he said.

"Well you're out on your own," Anna pointed out.

He seemed offended by this. "I happen to know these mountains like the back of my hand," he said haughtily, "and besides, I'm not alone. I've got Sven here with me." He patted the antlered animal beside him, which Anna now identified as a reindeer.

"...Uh huh," she said, clearly unimpressed. "Anyway, I'm just...passing through. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the nearest town."

The young man quirked an eyebrow at this. "No one is 'just passing through' these mountains," he said.

Anna huffed, "Well I am, and if you're not going to help me I'll just be on my way," she made to stalk back off in the direction she'd come. but he called after her.

"Wait, I'm sorry," he apologized, though he was obviously somewhat amused by her outburst, "My name's Kristoff by the way."

Anna turned back around to face him, arms crossed against her chest. "Anna," she said curtly. She figured it was a common enough name that it wouldn't set off any alarm bells.

"So where are you headed, Anna?" he asked, dropping his axe and dusting his hands off.

"Anywhere," she responded, "The nearest town or city."

Kristoff gave a nod of understanding. "Running away from home, eh?" he asked. Anna thought it best not to correct him. He was essentially right anyway.

Instead she changed the subject, "So what are you doing all the way up here?"

"Lumberjack," he said, gesturing toward the tree he'd been hacking away at. "Not the most glamorous job, but it pays the bills."

Anna nodded, not sure of what else to say, and he went on, "When I was younger I was actually training to be an ice salesman, but well..." he gestured towards the snowy mountaintop to emphasize his point. "Anyway firewood's what sells nowadays; supply and demand and all that."

Anna nodded again. Having never worked a day in her life she couldn't exactly understand what he meant, but she could empathize. An idea occurred to her.

"Well, I need to make it to a town or city, and I have no clue where I'm supposed to be going. If you'd be willing to escort me, I could pay you-" Anna paused for a moment, unsure of how much money she actually had with her. She opened the front pouch of her rucksack and peered in. The sum she found there was far larger than she'd expected, and she snapped the pouch closed before Kristoff could see, "-a bit." Though Kristoff seemed pleasant so far, Anna knew people could do rather unkind things when faced with large sums of money, and she didn't need to be taking chances right now.

Kristoff seemed skeptical. "A trip like that isn't really in the cards for me right now lady."

Anna attempted her best puppy dog face, the one that had always worked on her parents when she was younger. "Please? I'll pay you double whatever you'd make selling that lumber!"

Kristoff sighed. "See, now I feel bad leaving you on your own because you clearly have no common sense. What're you doing telling a strange man you just met that you're carrying that much cash on you? What's to stop me from robbing you blind right now?"

Anna, realizing he had a point, was a bit abashed. "Basic human decency?" she offered, biting her bottom lip.

Kristoff shook his head, "Fine, fine. I'll take you as far as the nearest town and no farther. I have friends who would kill me if they knew I'd let a girl like you go wandering around the mountains on her own."

Anna's face lit up, "That's wonderful, thank you!" Without even asking permission, she scrambled into the passenger side of his waiting sled.

Kristoff sighed heavily and took Sven's reigns. "Come on buddy, looks like we're taking a little trip."

If Anna hadn't known better, she would have thought the reindeer was laughing at him.

* * *

**So this was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, one for Elsa and one for Anna, but they were both a bit on the short side so I combined them into a slightly longer update. Thanks to everyone who's favorited or followed this story so far. If it's not too much trouble, it'd be cool if you could also leave a review and let me know what you think. I'd definitely appreciate the feedback. Either way, see you soon!**


	5. Chapter 4

Despite the rockiness of their initial encounter, Anna and Kristoff seemed to settle into each others' presence fairly easily. Anna was just grateful to have a companion with whom to brave the snowy mountains. The image of the wolves about to pounce was still fresh in her mind, and the thought of it made her shiver.

Kristoff, for all his initial reluctance, didn't seem to mind the company either. He hadn't stopped talking since they'd set off, at any rate. It seemed as though he'd amassed a store of pent up conversation topics and, now that he had a companion to share them with, his had been an almost constant stream of chatter. He told her a bit about the mountains, about being a lumberjack, about his relationship with Sven. It was rare in Anna's life to find that she couldn't get a word in edgewise, but she wasn't particularly opposed to the sensation.

Kristoff had spent the last fifteen minutes or so describing the finer points of the lumber trade, a topic which Anna, admittedly, was struggling to appear interested in. She had been fiddling with one of her braids for a bit when Kristoff glanced over and, forgetting his long-winded economics lesson mid-sentence, asked. "What's that?"

It took Anna a few moments to figure out what he was referring to. She was so used to the unnatural coloration of her hair that she often forgot it was out of the ordinary. "Oh this?" she asked, tugging the braid a bit for emphasis, "I was born with it."

Kristoff nodded, clearly satisfied with that explanation."So what exactly brings you out into the mountains?" he asked, "Sticking it to your parents?"

Anna shook her head, "I'd rather not talk about it." She hoped he would leave the subject alone.

Kristoff seemed as though he might press the issue for a moment, but then he seemed to think better of it. "Fair enough," he said, though he seemed a bit agitated.

After that, they continued on in silence for some time before Anna, feeling a bit uncomfortable, offered, "My parents died a long time ago."

At this, Kristoff's expression softened. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. After a beat, he added, "My parents died when I was very young too."

Anna looked up at this, surprised. She hadn't suspected that Kristoff was an orphan as well. She was suddenly very interested in his story, but it seemed rude to ask him about it when she was so unwilling to disclose her own.

Instead, she shared a sympathetic smile and steered the conversation into safer waters. "So...do you like working up here in the mountains? Isn't it dangerous?"

Kristoff thought for a moment before responding, "Not really. Once you get used to way things are up here it's not really any trouble," he paused for a moment, rubbing his chin with an exaggeratedly pensive look on his face, "Although...there is the Snow Queen," he said, smiling at her in a way that suggested he was just trying to spook her. Despite this, Anna decided to bite.

"Snow Queen?" she asked, intrigued.

Kristoff seemed pleased that he'd gotten her attention. "Well I mean, I've never actually seen her. It's more like a legend up here. It's what some of the travelers who pass through say anyway. She lives in a giant palace made of ice, way up on top of the north peak. Some say she's a witch with power over ice and snow and she's the one who caused the long winter, but no one's ever actually gone up the mountain to the castle. It's not even a sure thing that there's anyone living in there, but it's a pretty interesting story anyway."

Anna's eyes widened. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, she'd heard stipulation that the long winter had been caused by sorcery, but she'd never actually believed it, and she'd certainly never heard of this "Snow Queen." She wasn't sure if it was even a rumor that had reached Arendelle. Due to Anna's sheltered existence, she'd never exactly been in tune with the local gossip.

Still, her mind was racing at this news. She needed to know more. "So, have you ever actually seen this ice castle?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Kristoff didn't seem to note her excitement. "Yeah, I mean it's kind of hard to miss. The thing must be about 50 feet tall, made completely out of ice. I've always wished I could get a closer look at it myself. I bet it's absolutely magnificent up close," he said, a dreamy look on his face.

Anna bit her bottom lip. Could the witch who lived in this castle actually be the one who'd caused Arendelle to become frozen all those years ago? If Anna could find this Snow Queen, maybe she could find some way to set the weather right. After all, if Anna was the one to bring summer back to Arendelle after all this time, her people would have to side with her. She would be able to take back her throne and have Hans removed from the castle for good. The logical part of her brain was screaming that this plan was absolutely crazy, but the logical part of her brain was not one that Anna was frequently inclined to listen to.

"You have to take me there!" she said suddenly, her mind already made up.

Kristoff, whose gaze had been fixed somewhere off into the distance ever since he'd mentioned the Snow Queen's magnificent castle, seemed to snap back to reality at Anna's abrupt request. "What?" he sputtered, suddenly looking at Anna as though she were insane.

Anna figured she should at least explain part of her reasoning if she expected Kristoff's help. "The place where I'm from, Arendelle, it's been frozen in eternal winter for as long as I can remember. I've never heard of this Snow Queen before, but what if she's the reason? What if finding her is the key to bringing back summer?" she said.

Kristoff continued to stare at her in disbelief. "Uh-uh, no way. I agreed to take you as far as the nearest town but I definitely did not sign up for any excursions to enchanted castles," he protested.

"Oh come on!" said Anna, "You just finished saying that you've always wanted to take a closer look!"

"Yeah, but I also want a solid gold sled, enough carrots to last a lifetime and my own private island. We all want things, Anna!" he exclaimed.

"And what have you got to lose?" she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. .

"Um, let's see," said Kristoff, raising his fingers to count off the list, "Days worth of time that could be used to transport lumber, a whole lot of travel provisions and oh, I don't know, my life? I mean let's not even talk about the rumors surrounding the Snow Queen: that she has a heart made of solid ice, that she lures travelers into her castle and turns them into ice sculptures for her own amusement, that she can freeze a person's heart so that they'll never be able to love again. And that's all if the Snow Queen even _exists."_

"I'll make it worth your while!" Anna said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a large sum of money. Not even bothering to count it, she shoved the wad of bills into one of Kristoff's gloved hands.

Kristoff just stared, dumbfounded, for a few moments. Anna imagined it was probably the largest sum of money he'd ever seen in his life. He sputtered a bit before he finally managed, "Where did you even get this?" His eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you some kind of criminal or something?"

"No!" Anna exclaimed, frustrated. "Don't worry about where I got it, it's yours if you'll just help me!"

Kristoff looked longingly at the wad of money for a few moments, then up at Anna, and then back at the money. After a few more seconds of this, he said firmly, "No. No, I absolutely can't. It would be completely insane, for _any_ amount of money."

"Fine then!" said Anna, "I'll go on my own!" With that she swung her foot over the side of the sled. Kristoff, alarmed, made a grab for her arm, but she was too quick. She hit the ground and stumbled, but quickly regained her balance and began running.

Kristoff stared helplessly after her for a moment, before realizing he was still holding the money she'd pressed on him moments before. "Wait!" he called, "You forgot your-" He trailed off. Anna was already too far away to hear him.

"Ugh!" he shouted to no one in particular. Sven turned around at the sound of his friend's frustration and Kristoff said to him, "Why did I agree to help this crazy girl in the first place?"

Sven merely snorted in response, but that seemed to be enough for Kristoff.

"I know, I know," he said, looking off after Anna. "Come on buddy." He grabbed the reigns and turned the sled around to head after her. As he gave chase he shouted, "Hang on, you're going the wrong way!"

* * *

**So I feel that I should probably clear something up. I feel like the movie didn't really make this point clear, so I'm trying to make sense of it as best I can. I don't get the impression that Kristoff is from Arendelle. As far as I can tell, he lives in the mountains with the trolls. However, he must do a lot of selling and trading with Arendelle, because in the movie he is clearly concerned about his ice business when everything freezes over.**

**So here is the scope of the eternal winter in this story: Arendelle is frozen, as is the entirety of the mountain. Normally only the peaks would be frozen during the warmer time of year, but now the entire thing is frozen from top to bottom, including the area where Kristoff lives with the trolls. This is why people who pass through the mountains know about the long winter in the area, even though they may not all necessarily be from Arendelle, and why the rumors of the Snow Queen may not have travelled all the way down the mountain to Arendelle. So, for all intents and purposes of this story, that's where we stand.**

**With that out of the way, a big, big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Your response was very much appreciated and a great motivator. I know this chapter was a bit on the short side, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. There's more to come soon!**


	6. Chapter 5

Anna looked rather pleased with herself, once again sitting beside Kristoff in the sled, a fact that did nothing to alleviate her companion's irritation. Kristoff held the reigns tightly, wondering how on earth he managed to get himself into these situations. There was a reason he'd spent the majority of his life avoiding the company of other people.

Yet here he was, trekking his way up the mountain towards the Snow Queen's castle on the whim of some girl he'd only met a few hours ago. Perhaps he should have just let her wander off on her own, but he was worried that she'd freeze to death out on the mountain. She didn't really seem to have a well-stocked arsenal of survival skills. From her speech, manner of dress and the amount of money she was carrying, Kristoff took her for some lord or noble's daughter. He still had no idea why she had wandered out into the mountains in the first place, but it was plainly obvious that her sheltered upbringing had left her unable to cope with them.

The only thing she'd mentioned was that she was from Arendelle. Kristoff was familiar with it, having sold his lumber there a number of times. It was a land that had been frozen in eternal winter for over a decade, just as the mountains Kristoff called home had been. Sure, he'd heard the legends and rumors that the weather had been caused by the Snow Queen too, but what he didn't understand was why Anna had latched onto the idea with such vigor.

"So remind me again why exactly we're doing this?" he asked, unable to keep some measure of grumpiness out of his voice. The castle had come into view, shining atop the mountain in the waning light. The sun would be setting soon. Kristoff was liking this idea less and less.

Anna seemed to think for a moment before responding, "Come on, aren't you curious at all? What if the Snow Queen is the reason for the long winter? If we had a chance to bring back summer, wouldn't you at least want to try?"

The girl was so hopelessly naïve. "I don't think you quite realize what we're up against here," he responded. Anna looked at him curiously but he did not elaborate.

Kristoff couldn't tell her about what he'd seen as a child, about the young girl who'd been struck and frozen by some sort of icy magic; at least not without bringing his family into it. His strange upbringing was a whole can of worms he was not keen to open with some stranger he barely knew. But he could still recall the scene, though some of the details were fuzzy. He remembered the frantic parents who had brought their young daughter to his family for help, and the way the girl had looked small and limp in her father's arms. The Snow Queen existed, Kristoff knew, and she was not to be trifled with.

The sun had begun to dip below the trees now, and Kristoff gave Sven's reigns a tug. The sled glided to a halt.

"Oh come on, we're nearly there!" Anna protested, leaning over the front and craning her neck for a better view of the castle.

Kristoff shook his head. "We're at least another hour off and we are not wandering around on the mountain after dark. We should stop and make camp for the night. I'm sure the Snow Queen will still be there in the morning."

Anna looked back at the castle one last time but thankfully did not protest again. Kristoff hopped out and led Sven to a spot along the face of the mountain before unhitching him from the sled. Sven shook himself and whinnied happily, clearly glad to be rid of the bridle. Anna giggled and patted his neck while Kristoff pretended not to notice that his friend was milking Anna's attention for all it was worth. _Traitor_, he though bitterly.

Once he'd secured his sled properly, Kristoff set about unloading some firewood from the back and starting a campfire. "It gets pretty cold up here at night," he said, settling down in front of the pile of wood and attempting to light it, "You'd better stay close to the fire if you don't want to freeze."

Anna nodded, patted Sven one last time, and the three of them drew around the newly started fire. They watched the flames rise in silence for a few moments, and then Anna began digging through her rucksack. As she removed a package of dried meat and a heel of bread from her pack, her stomach growled audibly.

Anna blushed and looked over at Kristoff. He was smirking at her, but opted not to comment. Pretending as though nothing had happened, Anna offered him a strip of jerky. He was a bit taken aback by the gesture.

"Oh uh, thanks," he said, accepting the offering a bit awkwardly. Kristoff was not used to human interaction, and was even less used to receiving gifts (at least from anyone outside of his family), especially from a member of the opposite sex.

Still, he tried to play it cool as he took a bite and accepted a bit of bread as well. "I haven't had jerky in a while," he said, "Sven and I usually usually make due with roots and berries. And a few carrots when we can get them." As if to emphasize his point, Kristoff rummaged around in his bag for a moment and pulled out a bright orange carrot. He took a bite and tossed the rest to Sven, who munched on it happily.

They settled into silence for a few moments as they finished off their meal. After a while, Kristoff spoke again. "So," he said, placing his hands behind his head in an attempt to appear casual, "you want to tell me the real reason you're out here?"

Anna studied his face for a few moments, before responding, "No, not particularly."

Kristoff laughed. He'd expected as much, but it didn't hurt to ask. He was genuinely curious about Anna's circumstances, but if she didn't want to talk it couldn't be helped.

"Do you want to tell me the reason you're out here?" Anna countered. This caught Kristoff by surprise.

"I already have," he said, a bit indignant, "I'm a lumberjack."

"Yeah, but you actually live up here in the mountains don't you?" she asked. There was a hint of pride in her voice. Kristoff was a bit surprised that she'd realized that on her own, and so soon after meeting him. Did he really give off such a strong mountain man vibe?

Still, he tried to play it cool in the face of her deduction, "W-who said I lived in the mountains?" he asked, but he flinched at the sound of the stammer in his voice. He'd always been a terrible liar. There was a very brief pause, during which Anna stared pointedly at him with one eyebrow raised. She was clearly not buying his act. Kristoff conceded. "Fine," he huffed, "I live in the mountains."

"How long have you been living up here?" she asked, scooting a bit closer to the fire. She pulled her coat a bit tighter around herself. Kristoff was sympathetic. It got very cold up in the mountains when the sun went down, especially if you were slightly underdressed and unused to the cold, as Anna so clearly was.

"Since I was a kid, I guess," he replied. Kristoff stood up as he spoke, making his way toward the sled.

Anna seemed surprised by his answer. "Really?" she asked, "How did that happen? Was it after your parents died?"

Kristoff was still rummaging around in the sled. He'd found what he was looking for, but it was stuck beneath a pile of lumber. He began the process of tugging to try to remove it, and between grunts he said, "It's not really - something I - want to talk about." With the last word, the item he'd been pulling on was wrested free. A few pieces of lumber toppled to the floor of the sled, but Kristoff ignored them. As he made his way back to the fire, Anna could see that the item he'd been so intent on retrieving was a thick wool blanket. It was obviously old and a bit worn, but it looked warm enough. She let out a small gasp of surprise a moment later as Kristoff draped it around her shoulders. She pulled it tight immediately, grateful for the extra warmth.

"Thank you," she breathed, nestling further into the blanket with a content look on her face.

Kristoff smiled in spite of himself, a bit of a blush rising into his cheeks. She seemed so blissfully happy from such a small offering. "It's no problem. I know how cold it can get up here at night, especially if you're not used to it," he said. He thought about how strange it was to see another person with that blanket. It had been given to him by his troll mother when he was very young, and he'd carried it with him every time he was away from home. He seldom needed it to ward off the cold any more though, so it was nice to see another putting it to use.

His train of thought was broken when Anna spoke again. "Well, I don't want to talk about why I'm up here, and you don't want to talk about why you're up here," she said. Here her sentence was punctured by a long yawn. Her voice was thick now, and the lids of her eyes appeared to be growing heavy, "I guess we're just a couple of enigmas." With those words, sleep finally got the best of her. Her head drooped down, her eyes closed, and she drifted off, still gripping the sides of Kristoff's blanket.

Kristoff let his eyes linger on her for a moment longer, a smile still on his face. It had been so long since he'd met someone new, someone who wasn't a part of his family. She'd seemed a pain at first, but now Kristoff realized he was beginning to enjoy her companionship. He lay down in front of the fire, feeling the weight of sleepiness begin to descend on him as well. "I guess we are," he responded quietly, and then he closed his eyes.

* * *

**Yipes, so I just realized I accidentally skipped a chapter when I updated just now. I've got this finished up to about Chapter 10 and it's a bit hard to keep track of. Sorry to anyone who read that if you were confused by the chunk of time I just skipped over. I guess now some of you already know what's going to happen next chapter. This is what I get for numbering the chapters on here differently than in the document on my computer. Anyway hope you'll enjoy this one! I'll re-post the next chapter tomorrow. Sorry again about the confusion!**


	7. Chapter 6

**So a quick note. I screwed up yesterday and briefly posted this chapter as Chapter 5 instead of Chapter 6. It was only up for about a half an hour but, if you read it in that time and are confused as to why it's today's update as well, that's the reason. If you haven't already, make sure you go back and read the real Chapter 5 now, since I swapped them out yesterday after I realized my mistake. Alright then, now that that's cleared up, enjoy!**

* * *

Anna rose bright and early, awakened by the unusual chill in the air around her. For a moment she was confused as to where she was, before she blinked her eyes open and was met with the sight of the burned out ashes of last night's campfire and Kristoff sleeping beside her. The events of the previous day came back in an instant.

Anna stretched, feeling extremely cramped from having fallen asleep in a sitting position. As she raised her arms above her head, Kristoff's blanket slid off of her shoulders. She twisted herself around to retrieve it. In the morning light she could see that it was handmade, and obviously very old. She wondered if Kristoff had made it himself. She ran her fingers over the rough wool for a moment more, before folding the blanket up neatly and placing it beside her. She wondered if she would have been able to survive the night if she hadn't run into Kristoff. She hadn't been prepared for the extreme cold of the mountain. She didn't even know how to start a fire.

She stood and stretched again, grateful for the feel of the early morning sun on her skin. It was still very cold, but at a much more tolerable level. She glanced over at Sven, who was awake and watching her with sleepy eyes. She approached slowly, in case he was a bit grumpy in the morning, but when he showed no annoyance she moved closed and patted him on the head. "Good morning, Sven," she said, giggling as he grunted in reply.

Anna now turned her attention to Kristoff, who was sleeping so soundly she'd have thought him dead if she didn't know better. She glanced around, suddenly eager to get moving again. She wasn't keen on the idea of waiting for Kristoff to wake on his own.

First she tried tapping her foot. When that didn't do the trick, she cleared her throat loudly, but still he didn't stir. With a grunt of frustration she dropped to her knees, placed a hand on each of Kristoff's shoulders, and began to shake. "Come on, get up!" she said enthusiastically.

Kristoff snorted and then startled awake. He sat up so quickly that his forehead collided with Anna's, and they both reeled back, rubbing their quickly-forming bruises. Sven appeared to be laughing at them from his vantage point a few feet away.

"Ow, that is not the kind of wake up call I prefer in the morning," said Kristoff, the aggravation in his voice plainly obvious. He glanced up at the sun to check its position and then said, "Why are you up so early anyway? We can at least get another couple of hours."

Kristoff rolled over, as though to go back to sleep, but Anna shook him again, ignoring his grunt of frustration. "No come on, the sun's awake, so I'm awake!" she said, laughing. The words felt familiar on her tongue, though she was fairly certain she'd never spoken them before. Kristoff finally gave up, rubbing his eyes as he grudgingly pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Great you're awake!" Anna chirped, getting back to her feet, "Then let's get going!" She bounded toward the sled before Kristoff could protest.

Kristoff watched her through bleary eyes. After a moment, he turned to Sven and said, "I hate morning people."

* * *

A few minutes later found the three of them back on the road, munching some breakfast as the sun rose higher in the sky. The Snow Queen's castle was in view in the distance now. Kristoff had been quiet since they'd set off, though whether this was due to nerves or exhaustion Anna could only guess. She was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive herself, but there was no way she was going to turn back until she'd learned the truth about the existence of the Snow Queen.

As they drew closer and closer and the castle came into clearer view on the horizon, Anna found herself marveling at it. Kristoff's eyes seemed to have gone wide with appreciation as well. Looking at the detail and the vast intricacy of the structure, there could be no doubt that any force but magic had created it. Anna felt the fear inside of her lessen slightly. How evil could the Snow Queen be if she could create such a thing of beauty? Beside her, Kristoff seemed to have relaxed a bit as well.

They were very close now. As Anna began running different courses of action through her mind, she noticed that they'd veered off and were headed somewhere to the left of the castle. She gave Kristoff a questioning look, to which he responded, "What? Do you want to just waltz up the front steps and knock on the door? Don't you think we should be careful and see what we're dealing with instead of charging in blind?"

Anna nodded at this. She supposed Kristoff had a point. She couldn't imagine climbing up the long, frozen staircase to the front door, exposed and vulnerable and not sure what lay on the other side.

As they were continuing their ascent up the side of the mountain, a strange sound suddenly made its way to Anna's ears. She could swear the ground had just rumbled slightly beneath them. She tugged at Kristoff's arm, "Did you hear that?" she asked, glancing around them in all directions.

"No, what're you-" Kristoff began, but he stopped short as the rumbling came again, slightly louder this time. He and Anna sat up straight and looked at each other, suddenly on high alert. Sven slowed his pace and then skidded to a halt.

The rumbling was growing louder now, as though something were drawing closer to them. Anna was glancing around in all directions in search of the source when, suddenly, she spotted it. It was lumbering towards them at a speed that seemed slightly unnatural for its size. At first, Anna didn't know what she was looking at, but as it drew closer she realized it was some sort of monster that appeared to be made entirely of snow and ice.

Kristoff had seen it too by now. In a shaky voice he said, "Oh my-," but then, switching gears from bewildered to urgent, shouted, "Sven! Go!"

The reindeer didn't have to be told twice. Spinning around in the opposite direction, Sven began pulling with all his might. The sled swung around, teetering dangerously to one side before righting itself with a thump that caused a few logs to go rolling off the back. Anna nearly went flying off as well, but Kristoff grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back down into her seat.

They were practically flying now, the combined strength of Sven and the downhill slope of the mountain propelling them, yet they still seemed unable to shake the snow monster from their tail. Then, without warning, one of the sled's runners collided with a large rock or a piece of ice. At their current speed, the effect was enormous. The entire sled lifted up to the right and then flipped over onto its side. It skidded down the slope past Sven, pulling him off of his feet and dragging him along until the snow piled up in front enough to slow it to a halt. Anna and Kristoff went rolling off into the snow, along with the sled's entire contents, and lay dazed for a moment from the impact.

Anna shook her head, trying to right herself after the unexpected tumble. It only took her a moment to realize that the rumbling had grown louder than ever. She looked up to find that the snow monster was closing in on them rapidly, there was only a few yards' distance left between them.

Anna grabbed at Kristoff's arm in a panic, trying to drag him back to his feet. "Kristoff, we have to go!" she shouted, unable to take her eyes off the snow monster barreling towards them. She finally succeeded in pulling Kristoff up out of the snow and began to run down the mountain with him in tow, but she was dragged backwards as he stopped short behind her.

"Sven!" Kristoff shouted. Looking back, Anna could see that the reindeer was still tangled in the reigns beside the sled, trying desperately to free himself. Kristoff ran towards his friend and Anna followed, unwilling to leave either of them behind. They began pulling at the reigns, but the panic that had set in over them made their movements clumsy, and the reigns were too tangled to be set right with nothing more than a bit of frantic tugging.

The snow monster was nearly on top of them now. There was no way for the three of them to get out of the way in time. The monster raised a fist high in the air, as though it were about crush them. Anna raised her hands in front of her face in a futile effort to protect herself, and in her panic she registered that Kristoff had moved in front of her. Time seemed to freeze for what seemed like forever as the snow monster began to bring it's enormous fist down in their direction.

And then, suddenly, it was gone. With almost no warning, the snow monster exploded into a thousand tiny snowflakes, which drifted down to settle on Kristoff, Anna and Sven like a light frost. They stayed frozen in their defensive positions for a few moments more, before Anna lowered her hands and tried to take in what had just happened.

As the snow began to settle, a figure came into view from behind where the snow monster had stood only moments before. She seemed to be a few years older than Anna, with pale skin and platinum blond hair. One of her arms was outstretched, as though she were reaching for something, and her eyes were wide and fearful. It took Anna a few moments to process who this woman was, or where she had come from, before it hit her like a ton of bricks.

_The Snow Queen._

Suddenly alert again, Anna jumped from the place where she'd been kneeling in the snow. Looking around for a weapon, she reached down to grab one of the pieces of lumber that had fallen from the capsized sled. She staggered a bit from the unexpected weight at first, but finally managed to lift and wield it in front of her like a sword.

"Stay back!" she shouted. The snow monster had clearly been this woman's creation, and it had attacked and almost killed Anna and her friends. Anna was breathing heavily, unsure what she intended to do with a block of wood against a snow witch, when she took note of the look on the Snow Queen's face.

The woman didn't seem malicious. In truth she seemed more afraid than Anna did. The Snow Queen lowered her outstretched hand and began to back away. "I-I'm sorry," she said, clearly shaken, "I didn't mean- I didn't know-." She couldn't seem to find the words to express what she wanted to say.

Anna lowered the block of wood slightly, the tension going out of her. She looked at the Snow Queen again and a realization dawned on her.

"It was you." she said, letting the block of wood drop back into the snow at her feet, "With the wolves. Yesterday in the forest."

The Snow Queen stopped backing up for a moment and looked back at Anna as though seeing her for the first time. She clearly hadn't recognized her at first either. Anna decided to take advantage of this moment of silence. This woman didn't seem dangerous, and Anna still needed her help.

"Please, I was hoping you could help me," she said, taking a tentative step forward. Even this single step seemed to set the Snow Queen on alert again. She took another step back herself, but did not respond. Anna decided to keep speaking, "My name is Princess Anna of Arendelle, and I was hoping..." Anna trailed off at the look on the Snow Queen's face. She looked as though she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide and her breath was coming far too quickly. If she'd seemed frightened before, now she seemed absolutely terrified. Before Anna could say anything more, the Snow Queen turned tail and ran.

"Hey! Wait!" Anna shouted, stretching out her hand and running a few steps, but it was no use. There was a swirl of snow and wind, and the Snow Queen had vanished.

* * *

**So I really enjoyed writing this chapter, particularly the last bit, and I hope you liked it too. Thanks again for your continued reviews and support, they're very much appreciated, as always. See you soon with the next one. **


	8. Chapter 7

There were too many emotions buzzing around in Elsa's head, emotions she hadn't felt in a very long time. Up in the mountains, where she'd spent more than half of her life, there was no need for them. Up here she was free; isolated and lonely, but free. There was no call for fear or hurt or sadness, but now Elsa felt all of these things and more at full force. The wind whipped up around her, more icy and dangerous than it had ever been before. It was as though years of repressed emotions were fighting to break free.

It couldn't be true. It was impossible, wasn't it? How could that girl, that grown, adult and very much _alive_ girl, be the sister Elsa had lost thirteen years ago? The image came to her mind again, as it so often did, of her younger sister, cold and frozen and dead in her arms.

Yet that girl had said Anna's name. She'd claimed to be Princess Anna of Arendelle. She was the right age; she had their mother's nose and their father's eyes. Something about her had just seemed...right, and somewhere in the back of Elsa's mind, she realized that she'd believed her. Even before she'd known the girl's identity, the sight of her had stirred something in Elsa that had lain dormant for a very long time. She'd felt it when she'd protected the girl from the wolves in the woods. It was a warmth that Elsa had thought she would never feel again.

There was also the matter of the girl's hair. There was no mistaking that single white streak on her otherwise strawberry blond head. That streak of white was part of the image that had haunted Elsa for the better part of her life; she knew it was the same.

So Anna was _alive. _She'd been alive the whole time. Another thought came to Elsa, so bright and beautiful that she almost laughed aloud with joy: she wasn't a murderer. She'd never ended a life. Dangerous though her powers were, they had not crossed that line.

It was as though thirteen years of purgatory had suddenly come to an end. Elsa felt more human than she had since she was a little girl.

One thing that Elsa did find strange about the situation, however, was the fact that her younger sister had not seemed to recognize her. Sure, Elsa had not recognized Anna right away either, but she'd only had physical appearance to go on. Even if Anna had not recognized Elsa's face, how many people had power over ice and snow? Even with thirteen years' distance between them, surely Anna should have made that connection?

Elsa supposed the matter didn't merit dwelling on. After all, despite the joy of these recent discoveries, there was still a great deal of sadness in Elsa's heart. Though she was blessed with the knowledge that she hadn't killed her sister when they were children, it didn't mean that such a situation could never become reality. No, though Elsa now knew Anna was out there, Elsa would not allow herself to see her sister again.

After all, even if she hadn't killed Anna, she'd still clearly hurt her very badly. Though Elsa had no idea what had transpired in the time after she'd fled Arendelle, it was clear that Anna had been at least very near death. That thought brought with it a fresh wave of guilt. She hadn't killed her sister, but she'd fled with her own fears and practically left her for dead. What if Elsa's neglect had led to Anna's demise? Elsa wouldn't have even known the difference.

The guilt that had so recently lifted settled heavy on Elsa's heart again. Anna didn't need a sister like her. Anna would be better off at home, with a mother and father to love and protect her. One day she would ascend the throne, and then she would be a better ruler than Elsa could have ever hoped to be.

Those thoughts, at least, brought a small smile back to her face. Even if she never saw Anna again, the knowledge that her sister was alive and well was more of a gift than Elsa ever could have hoped for. Even though she planned to live out the rest of her lonely days in isolation on the northern peaks, the knowledge that Anna was leading the life that Elsa never could would be enough.

It would have to be.

* * *

Anna stared at the place where the Snow Queen had been only moments before. She was still reeling from the speed at which everything had just happened. She'd never felt such fear for her life before. She'd also never been chased by a giant snowman or witnessed magic firsthand.

And the Snow Queen herself had been another matter entirely. Anna would never have expected someone with complete power over ice and snow to seem so...broken. The Snow Queen seemed so frightened and sad, not at all like the witch from the stories Kristoff had told Anna.

Kristoff. Anna had almost forgotten him in the midst of her encounter with the Snow Queen. Now she turned around to find him staring at her with his mouth agape. He looked completely dumbstruck.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle?" he choked. He was suddenly looking at her as though she'd sprouted an extra head.

Anna winced. She'd almost forgotten that she'd revealed her identity in the heat of the moment.

"Are you trying to tell me that I've been dragging the princess, the future _queen_, of Arendelle around the northern mountains in my sled?" he looked as though he might faint, "I'm fairly sure I could be arrested for this."

"Well if they arrest you, we'll probably be sharing a cell," Anna replied. She figured there was no reason to hold part of the truth back from Kristoff any longer. After all they'd been through together, she was fairly certain he wouldn't turn her in to Hans.

Kristoff seemed understandably perplexed by her statement, so Anna sighed and began to elaborate. "The reason I came up to the mountains in the first place is because my life was in danger back in Arendelle. The regent, Hans of the Southern Isles, wants to take my throne for himself. He was going to poison me, but one of the staff found out and smuggled me out of the castle," Anna kept her eyes trained firmly on the ground as she told her story. It felt strange to be recounting it out loud, as though putting it into words had suddenly made the situation all the more real.

Kristoff didn't seem to know how to respond to this; he was still gaping at her as though trying to decide whether or not she was crazy. After a few more moments he shook his head and sighed. "What on earth have I been dragged into?" he asked, glancing over at Sven, but his tone was not unkind.

Anna didn't want to hope that Kristoff would continue to help her, especially not after hearing how high the stakes were. He'd done so much for her already, she couldn't possibly ask any more of him. Straightening her back a bit and trying to sound as controlled as possible, she said, "I understand if you no longer wish to travel with me. You've done more than enough and I'm grateful for the help you've given me so far."

Kristoff did not seem to buy her formal tone of voice. He rolled his eyes, smiling as though he wanted to laugh at her. Anna was seized by the sudden urge to slap him. He said, "I think I'm a bit too deep into this to back out now. Besides, isn't it my, I dunno, duty or something to assist the princess in times of distress or whatever?"

Anna had never really heard the ideas of honor and chivalry discussed in such flippant terms. She let up glaring at him just long enough for a small laugh to escape her lips. Kristoff went on, "And anyway, I think my sled is going to need some repairs," he said, glancing over at his fallen vehicle. It did seem to have taken some serious damage from its slide down the mountain.

Anna smiled, "I suppose we could work out some sort of arrangement."

Kristoff smiled back at her and stuck out his hand. "Then we have a deal," he said. Anna took his mittened hand and shook it, and then they lapsed into silence for a few moments.

Anna was, as usual, the one to break it. She glanced over her shoulder and said, "So that woman was the Snow Queen huh?"

Kristoff let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I'd probably say so."

"She didn't seem so evil or witchy to me," Anna responded.

Kristoff looked indignant. "She tried to have us killed!" he said. From behind him Sven, who had finally managed to disentangle himself from the fallen sled, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah but, I don't think she meant to. I think it was an accident," Anna responded.

Kristoff threw his hands into the air. "How do you 'accidentally' almost kill someone?" he asked.

Anna bit her lip. "I don't know, but she didn't kill us, you know? She stopped that snow monster just in time. She seemed more afraid than we were. And she saved me once before this too," Anna said.

Kristoff looked confused. "What? I thought you told me yesterday that you'd never even heard of the Snow Queen. You've seen her before?"

Anna responded, "Well, I didn't realize it was her at the time! When I passed through the forest I was attacked by wolves. Just as one was about to pounce on me, a pile of snow fell down and stopped it, and I thought I saw a blond lady in a blue dress. At the time I thought I'd imagined her, but when I saw the Snow Queen just now I realized what really happened."

Kristoff scoffed. "How do you know she didn't set the wolves on you in the first place?" he asked.

Anna couldn't really explain it to him, her certainty that the strange woman wouldn't hurt her, but she felt it from somewhere deep within her chest. "I just do," she said stubbornly, stomping her foot a bit for emphasis.

Kristoff raised his hands defensively, "Okay, okay," he said, conceding, "Not that I really have any reason to trust your judgment, but you did choose me for a companion so it can't be too terrible." He smirked and Anna rolled her eyes. After a moment he said, "So where do we go from here?"

Anna paused to think about it for a moment. In truth she could still have Kristoff take her to one of the neighboring kingdoms, but that plan had always made her somewhat uneasy. She didn't have any experience with the lands outside of Arendelle. She didn't know if they would be inclined to help her. What if they turned her in to gain favor with Prince Hans? Yet for some reason she felt sure that the Snow Queen would help her if she asked. It was strange, but Anna almost felt as though she were drawn to the woman somehow.

Making up her mind, Anna said, "I want to return to the Snow Queen's castle. I want to ask her for help."

Kristoff stared at her in disbelief. "You're kidding right? Look Anna, don't you think this woman lives up here in the mountains for a reason? I mean if she wanted to socialize don't you think she would have stuck around just now? She clearly wants to be left alone," he argued.

"Nobody wants to be left alone, Kristoff," Anna said matter-of-factly. She was already gathering up her dress to begin the hike back up the mountain.

Kristoff was growing frustrated. "Don't you ever think before you act?" he asked, trotting after her in the snow. He glanced backwards at his ruined sled. One of the runners had come loose, and the whole underside had cracked during its fall. It would be useless to bring it along now, but that fact didn't seem to be enough to keep the mournful look from Kristoff's eyes.

He suddenly darted back, and Anna paused to watch as he began digging through the wreckage. He emerged a moment later carrying a rucksack. He had a sheepish look on his face, and Anna could see that he had also deigned to bring along the blanket he'd lent her the night before. She smirked at him but said nothing about it as she turned and continued her climb.

With Kristoff's belongings salvaged, he, Anna and Sven began walking. The Snow Queen's castle loomed before them once more and this time, Anna thought, she was just going to march right up the stairs and knock.

* * *

**Hello again. Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a merry one! I actually did want to update yesterday but, as I'm sure most of you know, the website was being a bit wonky and I seem to have missed all of the windows where it was up and running. Besides, there were Christmas movies to watch and a Doctor Who special to be disappointed in, so I was a bit on the busy side.**

**So anyway, here's Chapter 7 after a day's delay. Thank you so, so much for reading and reviewing. The response has only gotten more lovely with every chapter and I can't thank you enough. See you soon!**


	9. Chapter 8

It was only a matter of hours before Anna and Kristoff found themselves at the base of a long and beautiful staircase. It glistened in the afternoon sunlight, its intricately carved patterns reflecting the light at different angles. It was intimidating and beautiful at the same time.

Anna placed her hand against the bannister. It was cold, but when she pulled her hand away her glove was dry. The ice was clearly magical, it would not melt at her touch. It was a strange thought to Anna. The more she saw of the Snow Queen's magic, the more fascinated she became.

It seemed she wasn't the only one either. Beside her, Kristoff was examining the stairs with a look akin to wonder on his face. It was almost comical how entranced he seemed to be. Kristoff glanced up at her, but when he saw the amused look on Anna's face he quickly hid his fascination.

"It's a nice staircase," he said defensively, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Anna laughed at this, and then turned her gaze back up towards the towering castle at the top of the stairs. She took a deep breath, stealing herself, and placed her foot on the first step. It slid a bit on the icy surface, but once Anna got her bearings the steps were easy enough to climb. Kristoff followed her lead, but Sven stared up at them sadly, unable to climb the icy steps himself.

Kristoff patted Sven on the head and said, "You wait for us here, okay buddy?" He fished in his bag for one of his few remaining carrots and offered it to Sven, whose spirits seemed to lift slightly as he accepted the gift. That taken care of, Anna and Kristoff began to climb.

It wasn't long before Anna found herself staring at the large, intricately carved doors of ice that would lead her inside. She hesitated there at the top of the stairs and turned to face Kristoff, "So do I just, I don't know, knock?"

The look on Kristoff's face told her clearly that he had absolutely no idea how to answer that question. He was no help. Anna sighed and squared her shoulders, raising her fist to hover just above the door for a moment as she gathered her confidence. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and knocked three times with as much force as she could muster. She and Kristoff waited, frozen in place, for almost a full minute, but no response came.

Anna looked over at Kristoff again, but he still had no helpful suggestions to offer. Anna bit her lip. It seemed wrong to just barge into someone else's home, but this was a life or death situation. Surely that meant something? Anna couldn't be held accountable for any action taken under such circumstances.

So, with another deep breath, Anna placed her hands against the door and pushed with all her might. It was hard for her feet to find purchase on the ice, however; and she only succeeded in pushing herself backwards. She tried again, this time pressing her whole shoulder up against the door. Kristoff, catching on to what Anna was doing, joined her, and together they leaned all of their weight against the door. It creaked open slightly.

Heartened by the small measure of success, the two continued pushing until they'd created a large enough gap to slip inside. With one last, long glance at each other, they entered the castle.

They found themselves inside a large and dazzling foyer, the high vaulted ceiling giving the room an extremely spacious feel. The awe was plain on Kristoff's face again, and Anna was certain hers must look similar. As she was taking in the splendor of the large entryway, she thought she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hello?" she called out, but there was no response.

Slowly and carefully, she began to make her way across the room to the stairs, Kristoff trailing behind her. She began to ascend, staying alert in case there were any more giant snow monsters lurking about, but all seemed quiet. It was as though the castle was completely deserted.

Anna pressed on. She reached the top of the stairs and glanced around. This time she was certain she'd seen the train of a blue gown disappear around the corner. "Wait!" she cried, racing ahead.

She turned the corner and finally caught a true glimpse of the Snow Queen. Realizing she'd been spotted, the other woman turned around to face Anna, looking for all the world like a cornered animal. Anna suddenly felt a bit guilty for trespassing.

"You shouldn't be here," said the Snow Queen, unable to keep the nervous energy out of her voice, "You need to go." Kristoff had caught up with them now, and the Snow Queen's eyes darted between him and Anna.

"Please," Anna said, "I was hoping you could help me. You may be the only one who can." She didn't make any move in the Snow Queen's direction and she spoke slowly. She didn't want the other woman to disappear again.

"You wouldn't want help from someone like me," she replied, looking down at her hands. Then she looked up and said a bit more forcefully, "Go home."

"Well you see, I sort of _can't_ go home," Anna said. The Snow Queen was looking at her with curiosity now, so Anna began to explain, "My life was in danger there. Arendelle's regent, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, is after my life. He wants to claim my throne for himself."

The confusion was plain on the Snow Queen's face. "What about your parents, the king and queen?" she asked. There was some sort of unreadable emotion on her face.

Anna supposed it wasn't surprising that the woman didn't know of her parents' passing. She did, after all, live an isolated life in the mountains. "I suppose you don't hear much news from Arendelle," she said, "My parents are dead. They have been for years. Arendelle has been under Prince Hans's control for six years now."

The look on the Snow Queen's face morphed into one of abject horror. Anna didn't know if it was her imagination or not, but it felt as though the temperature in the room had dropped rather sharply. She couldn't imagine why this information had induced such a reaction.

"No," the Snow Queen whispered. She looked as though she might faint. Without warning, her legs gave out from under her and she dropped to the ground, her face buried in her hands. Anna took a step back, alarmed by the change in the other woman's disposition.

Anna was not sure what to do. The Snow Queen was clearly distressed, though Anna could not fathom why. There was a new layer of frost creeping up the walls, jutting out haphazardly in sharp bursts. Anna took a nervous step backwards. She was beginning to think Kristoff had been right. Perhaps they shouldn't have come.

"I'm so sorry," came the Snow Queen's muffled voice. Her head was still cradled between her hands.

Anna didn't know what the other woman meant by this. She began, "I don't-" but the Snow Queen cut her off.

"All these years and I never knew. I had everything so, so wrong," she said, lifting her face up to meet Anna's gaze. There were emotions burning in her eyes that Anna could not begin to make sense of. "I never should have left."

Anna was growing concerned now. The room was growing colder and colder. This woman clearly had a number of issues of her own to sort out. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to help them after all. "You know, I'm sorry we bothered you," Anna said slowly, backing away so as not to further disturb the Snow Queen's mood, "We'll go now."

But as Anna turned to leave, the Snow Queen called after her. "Wait!" she cried, and the desperation in her voice was so strong that Anna turned back around to face her.

"Anna, do you truly not remember me?" the Snow Queen asked.

"I-I don't know what you mean," Anna replied, eyes darting towards the staircase, "I'd never seen you before you helped me yesterday in the woods."

The Snow Queen looked into Anna's eyes as though desperately searching for something within them. There were tears streaming from her eyes now, but they froze halfway down her cheeks. She appeared to be wrestling with the impulse to say whatever was on her mind. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she said quietly, "It's me...Elsa. Your- your sister."

Anna took another step back, now certain the Snow Queen was a measure unstable. Voice shaking, she responded, "I'm sorry, I-I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a sister. I never have."

The Snow Queen looked as though she'd been slapped. She stared at Anna with complete disbelief, as though she couldn't understand what she was hearing.

Then, suddenly, Kristoff's voice broke the silence. Both women jumped, having forgotten he was even there. "My god," he said. He was staring at the two of them with his mouth agape, as though seeing them for the first time. "It was you," he said, looking at Anna. Anna stared back at him. She had the distinct impression that everyone around her had suddenly lost their mind.

"What're you-" she began.

"There's someone you need to see," he said. Then, turning to Elsa he added, "Both of you. And I can take you to him."

* * *

**So there we go, some cats are out of some bags in this chapter. It was a rather difficult one to write, and I hope you found it enjoyable. Everyone's going to have a whole lot of explaining to do in the coming chapters.**

**A quick note about Elsa's ice in this story. So I mentioned that it is cold but also doesn't melt. This shouldn't really be possible, since the sensation of cold occurs when, in very basic terms, a cold object sucks the warmth out of a warmer object. Therefore, if the ice took warmth from Anna's hand, its temperature should rise enough for it to melt. However, this is obviously magic ice, so I think my explanation will be that it breaks a bunch of chemical laws and can absorb heat without its actual temperature changing. Therefore it feels cold, but it won't melt. This goes for all of the ice and snow in Arendelle and on the mountain as well. Take that First Law of Thermodynamics.**

**So yeah, just thought I'd mention that. As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated and a great motivator. Hope you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you next time. **


	10. Chapter 9

Elsa felt strangely exposed as she followed Kristoff and Anna down the mountain. It had been so long since she'd been in the company of other human beings that she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She glanced ahead at the backs of the two people and the reindeer walking in front of her. They seemed equally uneasy in her presence, which gave her little comfort.

Elsa didn't quite understand the chain of events that had led to this situation, but she knew she was at least partially to blame. There had been more than a dozen chances for her to avoid being tracked down by Anna and her rather gruff looking companion (Kristoff was his name, she remembered), but Elsa hadn't shown the proper measures of restraint.

She had suspected that Anna might follow her back to her castle, yet Elsa had returned there anyway. She'd seen the two of them approach, but she hadn't fled. She'd seen them pushing at the front door, yet she hadn't frozen it shut. No, Elsa acknowledged, somewhere deep down in the most selfish pits of her heart, she knew that she'd wanted to see her sister again; a sister who apparently didn't even remember that Elsa existed.

For a moment back at the castle, Elsa had thought that maybe she'd had it wrong. Maybe this girl who looked so much like the little sister Elsa had thought she'd lost was not really Anna at all. But Elsa somehow knew that wasn't the case. She knew it with a strange and unwavering certainty. The years apart had not been enough to remove the image of her sister from Elsa's mind. Though Anna had been just a little girl the last time Elsa had seen her, there was a part of Elsa that would always recognize her sister, despite the passage of time. It appeared, unfortunately, that the same could not be said for Anna.

Elsa supposed she understood though. Perhaps Anna had simply repressed Elsa like a bad memory or a childhood trauma. It wasn't as though Elsa deserved to be called a sister. She'd hurt Anna and then she'd abandoned her. She'd left Anna to spend half of her life alone after the death of their parents. She'd left her the sole survivor of the royal family, with a power hungry usurper out for her blood. Elsa should have been there to protect her sister. She should have been there to share the burden of grief after their parents' death. But she hadn't, and by now it was far too late.

The small group was making its way into the forest now. The sun had begun to set, and the trees took on an eerie and somewhat more sinister look in the growing darkness. Anna, Kristoff, and the reindeer (who Elsa had yet to be introduced to) seemed to be walking a bit closer together now, all of them a bit jumpier all of a sudden. Elsa, for her part, felt no apprehension as she walked behind them. She knew the darkness posed no threat. The cold had never bothered her and the wolves feared her. The only thing Elsa had ever been afraid of was herself.

They walked on, making their way deeper and deeper into the forest. It was a cold and clear night, and the crunch of ever-present mountain snow beneath their boots was the only sound. They were heading deeper in than Elsa had ever ventured before.

She was beginning to regret her decision to follow them now. She'd known it was a mistake from the beginning, but she'd gone along anyway because, for the first time in a very long time, she couldn't bear the thought of being alone. The news that her parents had been dead for six years without her knowledge had shaken Elsa to her core. Sure, she hadn't seen them since she was a child, and some part of her had long ago come to terms with the fact that she might never see them again, but to know they were gone from the world entirely was a completely different feeling.

There was another reason she'd tagged along as well. Kristoff had been very insistent that Elsa go with them, much to both Anna and Elsa's confusion. He kept saying there was something important that he needed to show the two of them, and that they'd both understand once they got there. Elsa couldn't help it, she was curious in spite of herself.

Her thoughts were cut short when Anna and Kristoff came to a halt in front of her. They had emerged in some sort of clearing. The trees rose high on all sides, but the area in front of them was cleared out and covered in mossy rocks of different shapes and sizes. Elsa didn't quite understand where they were and, from the look on her sister's face, it appeared that Anna didn't have much more of an inkling than she did. Kristoff, however, seemed to relax at once.

"Hey guys, I'm home!" he called happily, marching into the clearing with his reindeer bounding happily at his side. With an enthusiasm that belayed none of the awkward silence he'd endured on the walk here, he began chattering happily to the rocks.

All of the tension between Anna and Elsa was momentarily forgotten as they exchanged a worried glance behind Kristoff's back.

Then, without warning, the rocks began to shift and roll. Elsa let out a soft gasp and jumped out of the way as one of them passed by her right foot. They all converged around Kristoff before popping up to reveal their true forms.

"Trolls!" Anna said with dawning realization. At the sound of her voice, dozens of troll heads swiveled in her direction.

"Kristoff's brought a girl home!" came a voice from somewhere in the mob.

"Two girls!" another corrected. The chatter rose louder and louder until Kristoff made an attempt to get it under control.

"Okay, okay," he said, amusement plain in his voice, "Come on guys, it's not like that. Look, I need to speak to Grand Pabbie right away. Does anyone know where he is?"

One of the smaller trolls piped up. "I'll get him!" she said happily, and with that she rolled off.

Another, slightly older looking troll, made her way up to Kristoff now. She seemed delighted to see him. "Kristoff! It's been far too long since your last visit! You look skinny, have you been getting enough to eat?"

Kristoff's eyes darted to where Anna was watching him with a look of utter disbelief on her face. He flushed slightly and said, "Yeah, yeah of course. I'm fine ma, come on cut it out will ya?" Yet despite his apparent discomfort he still bent to give her a hug, which she returned enthusiastically.

A moment later, the smaller troll returned with a much older and wiser looking one trailing behind her.

"Grand Pabbie," Kristoff greeted him, standing back up to his full height. Kristoff gestured for Anna and Elsa to come closer and, after a moment's hesitation, they did so.

The older troll seemed surprised to see them there. He stared at Elsa for a few moments before turning his gaze to Anna. His eyes widened slightly. "Ah, it's been a good while since I've seen you, young lady," he said with a hint of a smile.

Anna glanced behind her as thought trying to determine whether the troll could be talking to someone else. She placed a hand on her chest and said, "Me?" with a measure of uncertainty in her voice.

The older troll nodded. "No, you wouldn't remember would you? You were just a little girl at the time."

"Grand Pabbie," said Kristoff, "something happened to Anna when she was young didn't it? I remember it vaguely, but the details are fuzzy..."

The troll nodded and turned to address Anna once more. "Your parents brought you here in the earliest hours of the morning. You were nearly frozen and barely breathing. They said they'd found you lying on the floor of the ballroom and had no idea how long you'd been like that. When I examined you, I found that there was ice in your head. It was already in a very advanced stage. I was able to cure you, but in order to do so I had to remove a great deal of the memories from the first few years of your life," he explained.

Anna could hardly believe what she was hearing. She'd spent so long wondering why the first few years of her life were a blank space in her memories, and now here was the answer. She was unsure of how to respond.

The troll turned to face Elsa now. "Ah, and you were the cause of it weren't you?" he said, a knowing look in his eyes, "I can sense the power in you from here. You must be Elsa."

Elsa gaped at him, surprised by the sound of her own name. She had no idea how this troll knew of her. Grand Pabbie went on, "Your parents were very worried about you, you know. They said you'd run off. Let your fear get the better of you, did you?"

Elsa didn't really know how to respond to such an accurate observation, so she merely nodded. The old troll tsked at her, "Ah, but fear and isolation and loneliness are rarely the solutions to any problem."

"Can you do anything for them?" Kristoff asked. Grand Pabbie studied Anna for a moment and then motioned for her to come closer. She did so with a measure of uncertainty, kneeling on the ground so that she was closer to the old troll's eye level.

Grand Pabbie placed his hands on Anna's temples and closed his eyes as though lost in deep concentration. He stayed like this for almost a full minute before pulling away. "The memories were never truly gone," he said, "just locked away while the head took the time to right itself. Yet it seems that the years have taken care of the worst of it on their own. There doesn't seem to be any danger in it now."

With that, he place his hands on her temples once more. This time, there was a flash of light, and for a moment Anna's eyes seemed to take on an unnatural glow. She reeled backwards, clutching her head as though dizzy. It seemed to take her a few moments to reorient herself.

She looked up, and her gaze settled on Elsa. There was something different about the way she was looking at Elsa now. This time, Anna's eyes shone bright with newly-discovered recognition.

"Elsa?"

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**So there's another update for you, and another chapter that was actually a lot of fun to write. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**So anyway, up to this point I've been updating pretty much daily, but I'm actually getting on a plane to move to another country in about 4 hours, so I'm gonna take a guess and say my updates may become a bit less frequent. I do still wholly intend to finish this story though, so fear not! Even if my updates come more slowly they will still come. See you next time! **


	11. Chapter 10

"Oh my gosh! Elsa!" Anna shouted. Without warning, she launched herself at Elsa and wrapped her in the tightest hug she could manage. Anna almost felt as though she were clinging to Elsa for dear life.

Elsa seemed to stiffen at first. Anna wasn't even sure if her sister liked being hugged, but it seemed too late to be worrying about it. Elsa's skin was cold, but Anna didn't mind. She couldn't believe that all of her memories of her sister had been missing up to this moment. It felt as though a part of her heart she hadn't known was broken had suddenly become whole again. She never wanted to let go.

So many things made sense now. Every meaningful glance exchanged over her head, every time her parents had stopped speaking abruptly when Anna had entered the room, every time the servants looked as though they'd almost let slip some horrible secret. It was all to hide Elsa. It was all to keep a secret from Anna because they believed the truth might freeze her brain to ice. It was why she was never allowed out of the castle, lest she catch some whisper of the late Princess Elsa. It was all to keep those memories locked away in the darkest corners of her mind.

Anna squeezed harder at the thought of all of the time lost between them. She remembered the days when she'd rarely left her sister's side, when they would spend entire days racing around the castle, building snowmen in the halls. She felt a tear slip down her cheek.

Another moment passed, and finally Elsa seemed to let go of whatever was holding her back. Anna's heart lifted as she felt her sister return the hug with equal force. She could feel a wetness on her shoulder that suggested Elsa was crying too. Anna wasn't sure if it was only her imagination, but she thought her sister's skin felt warmer all of a sudden.

It was a while before Anna pulled away. She kept her hands resting on Elsa's shoulders, studying her sister's face as though trying to memorize it. She couldn't believe that it had been the face of a stranger only minutes before.

"Elsa..." Anna said again, as though testing the way the name sounded on her tongue. There were tears still shining in her eyes. "How could I have forgotten?"

Elsa had been smiling, but at Anna's words something seemed to snap inside of her. Her expression contorted into one of pain and guilt, and she turned away. Elsa sucked in a shaky breath and said, "I hurt you once. Badly. You nearly died, and I ran away. I'm not the type of sister who deserves to be remembered."

Anna searched her brain for the memory Elsa had spoken of. They all seemed brand new, right at her fingertips, though they were, in actuality, many years old. She recalled the incident Elsa was speaking of almost immediately. "I remember," she said, placing her hand back on Elsa's shoulder. Her sister turned back around to face her, "and that wasn't your fault. You told me to slow down, but I didn't listen. We were both just kids. We were young and stupid. I know you weren't trying to hurt me."

Elsa's eyes shone in the moonlight. She appeared to be trying hard to hold back a tidal wave of emotion. Elsa took a moment before she spoke, and Anna could almost hear the sob that was threatening to choke her voice, "All of these years...I thought you were dead," she finally managed and, with that, the dam broke. The tears that had been threatening to spill over rolled down her cheeks and Anna, heart breaking, pulled her sister in for another hug.

She understood now, the reason why her sister had run away and chosen a life of isolation. Anna could imagine she might do something much the same if she believed she'd hurt someone she cared about. But they were both here now, suddenly reunited after 13 years of each believing the other was gone (or non-existent). Anna was not afraid of Elsa, though Elsa was clearly frightened by her tenuous control over her own powers.

A thought struck Anna then, something she'd forgotten about in the wake of all that had happened since she'd found Elsa at her castle. She'd almost forgotten the reason she'd sought Elsa out in the first place. Remembering her sister's powers as she now did, she knew it could only be Elsa who had turned Arendelle into a land of snow and ice. Yet she had the sneaking suspicion that it had not been her sister's intention. She wasn't even certain that Elsa knew that it had happened.

Anna didn't quite know how to broach the subject, but she knew she had to ask. She waited for Elsa to calm down and regain her bearings and then she asked, gently, "Elsa, have you seen Arendelle at all in the years since you left?"

Elsa seemed slightly surprised by the sudden question. She cleared her throat, obviously a bit embarrassed by the blatant outpouring of emotion she'd just expressed, and answered in an even voice, "No. I haven't even been down the mountain. I usually stay close to the castle. It's safer for everyone that way."

Anna bit her bottom lip, not sure how to go on. She chose her words carefully, "I don't think you'd know about this then but...Arendelle has been...frozen for a very long time. Thirteen years in fact," she paused a moment to let the significance of this timeline sink in, "It's like some kind of eternal winter or something."

Elsa's eyes grew wide at this. She took a step away from Anna, searching her sister's face as though trying to determine if what she'd said was true. Her voice was shaking again as she asked, "W-what are you talking about?"

Anna continued, "I think you may have, _accidentally_," she placed a great emphasis on this word, "sort of frozen it when you ran away all those years ago."

Elsa looked as though she couldn't quite comprehend the news. She was looking down at her hands as though the answers to all of her questions were written on her palms. Anna took a step forward, "It's okay though, you can just unfreeze it, can't you?"

Elsa looked up, and her eyes were tortured. Anna could tell she was growing upset; the wind was beginning to whip up around her. "No I can't," Elsa said, her hands were shaking, "I don't know how!"

Anna could see the turmoil within her sister, so she tried to comfort her, "It's okay, I'm sure we can figure this out," she said.

Her words didn't seem to be getting through to Elsa, though. The wind was growing stronger, Anna could feel it biting at her face and hands. Elsa had sunk to her knees, clutching her head.

Grand Pabbie, who had been standing back silently with Kristoff and the other trolls while the sisters had their reunion, stepped forward now and grabbed Anna's hand. "Get back!" he said, a note of urgency in his voice. Anna looked back and forth between the old troll and Elsa. She knew that her sister wouldn't hurt her, but the look in Grand Pabbie's eyes did not allow room for argument. She obediently stepped behind him just as the swirling storm around her sister reached its peak. Without warning, Elsa threw her head back and screamed. Streams of ice-blue magic shot from her in all directions, but Grand Pabbie threw out his hands and deflected it. Silence followed in the wake of Elsa's outburst.

From her place on the ground, Elsa looked completely lost. She was breathing heavily, hands wrapped tightly around her arms. She was looking at them as though trying to figure out if what she'd just done had hurt anyone. She stood on shaky legs, looking as though she were about to run again.

But Anna was faster. Just as Elsa turned to flee, Anna grabbed her sister's wrist. Elsa tried to pull her hand away as though scalded but Anna, who had expected such a reaction, held tight. Her sister's skin was freezing cold once more, Anna could feel the chill even through her gloves, but she ignored it and held on for dear life.

"No Elsa! You can't run away again!" she said. She knew that Elsa was scared, that all of this was new and sudden and that running away had been her way of life for thirteen years, but Anna wouldn't lose her now. Not when she'd just gotten her back.

Elsa continued trying to tug her hand from Anna's grip, but her efforts were half-hearted. She looked into Anna's eyes and said, "Please Anna, you need to let go. I nearly hurt you again just now. I can't control it. I'm _dangerous."_

Anna stared her sister down. "You're not," she said forcefully, "and I'm not afraid of you. I won't let you run away again. I know that you're scared, but you may be the only one who can help me now. You can return Arendelle to the way it was, I know you can! You're not dangerous, you're-" She stopped speaking for a moment, shocked by the thought that had just occurred to her. Looking her sister up and down she said, "Elsa...how old are you?"

Elsa seemed taken aback by the sudden question. She seemed to need a moment to calculate the answer before replying, with a measure of skepticism, "Twenty-one."

Anna released her sister's wrist as her hand flew to her mouth. She took a step back. "Elsa," she breathed, "You're the _queen_."

Elsa seemed horrified by the suggestion. "No I'm not!" she protested. She was so caught off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation that she didn't even seem to notice that her sister was no longer keeping her captive. "I gave that title up when I ran away all those years ago. _You_ will be the queen when you come of age."

Anna shook her head, "But don't you see Elsa, I won't be of age for two years. That's two years for Hans to find some way to get rid of me before I take the throne. But you're of an age to be crowned! The throne is rightfully yours already, all you have to do is take it!"

Elsa opened and closed her mouth a few times. She was looking at Anna as though she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Finally she managed, "Anna are you _insane_? I've been gone for thirteen years. The entire kingdom believes me dead. Even if I did go back, I'd have no idea how to run a country. I haven't had any training since I was seven years old. I've lived in the mountains on my own for almost my entire life. And even if I did go back, who would believe I was who I said I was?"

Anna took Elsa's hand again, but this time she held it gently. "They'd believe you were you because I'd tell them you were! And besides, I'm sure there are ways of checking that sort of thing. You look almost the same as you did when you were younger! I'm sure that together we could convince them!"

Elsa was definitely not sold on the idea, "But even if we did, I'm still not cut out to be a queen. I have none of the necessary knowledge and experience, and that's not even taking my powers into consideration."

Anna did not seem swayed by her sister's argument. She knew now that it was Elsa's destiny to take the throne. Lack of training be damned; anything that Elsa needed to know could be learned, and Anna would be there to help her. Anna could feel from deep within her heart that this was the way things were meant to be. She had never felt as though she belonged on the throne, even though she'd been told from a young age that she'd one day inherit it. Now, looking at her sister, she knew that Elsa was always the one who was meant to be queen.

Anna squared her shoulders and looked Elsa straight in the eye, trying to convey all of the certainty that she knew her sister lacked. "You _can_ do this Elsa. I'll help you. We'll face it together."

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**Alright so not too late on this update. I'm all moved and settled now and I had a bit of time to write on the plane, though quite honestly I didn't get too far there. Either way though, here's the next chapter. I hope it came out alright as it's obviously an important one.**

**I know my chapters are a bit on the short side, but that's just because I usually know exactly where I want to stop them. I probably could have combined this chapter and the next, which is one of the shortest yet, into one, but I like where this one ended off and I'll have the next one up fairly soon anyway.**

**Thanks a ton for sticking with me so far guys and for all of your lovely reviews. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as possible, though this is looking like it's going to be a bit of a crazy week so we'll see how that goes. See you then!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey there guys. Sorry this update has taken a while. This week has been absolutely insane for me and I haven't had a lot of time to myself. This chapter is also extremely, extremely short, so I apologize for that as well. As I said, I could have combined this chapter and the last one but I liked having them separated. I'll try to get the next one up more quickly to make up for it. For now, enjoy!**

* * *

Elsa's thoughts were in turmoil. She had never felt so completely torn between responsibility and desire. She knew what she should do. She should to return to her castle of ice to live out her days in solitude. She should freeze the doors shut this time and keep them that way, and she should build an army of snow creatures to guard them. She should make sure that no one ever came near her again. She had just lost control so completely that she had endangered the lives of others. She shuddered to think what would have happened had Grand Pabbie not been present.

Yet despite all of this, and despite knowing the correct course of action to take, Elsa simply didn't _want_ to. She had spent the past thirteen years in self-imposed exile, punishing herself for a crime she hadn't even committed. She'd thought her little sister was dead, but now here Anna was before her and the only thing Elsa wanted at this very moment was to be close to her. And, presumably due to some fundamental lapse in judgment, it seemed that Anna wanted to be close to Elsa as well.

Still though, Anna's sudden insistence that Elsa become queen of Arendelle was a bit ridiculous. In truth, Elsa had almost forgotten that she was a princess at all. She had become a creature of the mountain, a being of snow and ice and frost. She had isolated herself from all human contact for such a long time. How would she suddenly take on the responsibility of leading an entire country? The thought was absurd.

Still Anna insisted, such sincerity in her eyes that Elsa could not meet them. She turned away.

Now Grand Pabbie stepped forward once more. His face seemed to have grown more solemn in the wake of Elsa's accidental attack, and he addressed her, "Princess Elsa, your powers have great beauty, but there is danger in them as well. If you are to learn to control them, fear and isolation should not be your teachers."

Elsa nodded at these words, though she did not fully understand them. "So how do I get them under control?" she asked. She wanted answers more than anything else, and Grand Pabbie seemed to understand things about Elsa's powers that even she didn't fully grasp. She hoped he could help her finally control her powers instead of being controlled by them.

The old troll seemed to think about this for a moment before he responded, "I believe you should go with your sister. You have the power to restore Arendelle to the way it once was, but you will not find it if you lock yourself away. Keep your emotions in check, but do not repress them entirely. Fear, above all else, will be your enemy, but you can overcome it."

Perhaps such a response should have comforted Elsa, but it only served to fray her nerves even further. Keeping her emotions in check seemed simple in theory, but in practice it was a lot more difficult, especially when one small slip could lead to tragedy.

Some of Elsa's fears melted away, however, when she saw the look on Anna's face. Upon hearing Grand Pabbie's suggestion that Elsa go with her, Anna's eyes had lit up. She was staring at Elsa now with such hope that Elsa was fast losing the nerve to refuse her.

In the pause that followed, Kristoff approached them, coming to stand beside Anna. Elsa tried to be discreet as she looked him up and down. She wondered who this stranger was to her sister. Were they friends? Lovers? Elsa realized with a start that Anna was even old enough to have married. She knew so little about what had gone on in the last thirteen years of her sister's life. Anna was practically a stranger now, but she was a stranger that Elsa desperately wanted to get to know.

Anna stepped forward again. "Elsa," she implored, "Please. I need you to help me. You may be the only one who can. Without you, I may never be able to return to Arendelle."

Elsa still could not bring herself to make a decision. She opted to stall for time. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" she asked, hoping the explanation would distract Anna long enough to buy Elsa some time to think. To be fair, Elsa did also need to be filled in on the finer details about the dangers that threatened her sister.

Anna perked up immediately. She seemed to have counted Elsa's apparent interest in her predicament as a victory. "Well I already told you most of it. Prince Hans wants to take the throne for himself. He asked for my hand in marriage first, but when I turned him down he planned to have me poisoned instead. One of the maids got me out of the castle. She told me to go to a neighboring kingdom for help, but when I heard about the Snow Queen," she smiled sheepishly at the use of this nickname before continuing, "I decided to go to her for help instead, and I found you. I can't believe how incredibly lucky that was."

Elsa clenched her fists as Anna explained the situation. The thought that a man like this Prince Hans had been allowed to put her sister in danger was enough to make her blood boil. "How did this Prince Hans gain so much power in Arendelle in the first place?" she asked.

"He was a member of the council, and they chose him from among themselves after our parents' death. Clearly he's been enjoying himself a bit too much because now he's decided that he doesn't want to give it up. I don't know who's on his side or whether the people of Arendelle have turned against me. That's why I need your help, Elsa. If we can put an end to the winter and get Arendelle back the way it's supposed to be, I'm sure the people would take our side. Then we could have Hans removed from the throne and have you crowned queen instead. It's a much better plan than having to choose another regent until I finally come of age."

Elsa looked back at her sister. Anna's eyes were so full of hope and trust. She wanted Elsa's help so badly that, despite her still lingering apprehensions, Elsa was fast losing the will to deny her. Elsa hadn't been there for most of Anna's life. She'd never been there to protect or comfort her. Now was Elsa's chance to begin making up for lost time, and if this was what Anna asked of her, Elsa would set her own fears aside.

Her mind finally made up, Elsa simply nodded. "Alright," she said, clasping her hands together so that her sister would not see how they were shaking, "I will help you. We'll do this together."

Anna whooped with joy and threw her arms around her sister once again. Elsa staggered backwards slightly, still not used to the sensation of another human's touch.

The trolls around them began to cheer as well. They'd been watching the whole scene in silence since Anna's memories had been returned to her, but now they made their approval for Elsa's decision known as vocally as they could. It did serve to strengthen Elsa's resolve somewhat.

Kristoff approached her now as well. She was still trapped within the grips of Anna's hug, but he addressed her anyway. In contrast to Anna's excited acceptance of Elsa, Kristoff still seemed extremely wary around her. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and couldn't quite seem to meet her eyes. Elsa supposed she couldn't blame him.

After a moment, he said, "So you're uh-you're Anna's sister." It wasn't necessarily a question. It was more as though he was groping for something to say to her.

Deciding to take pity on the poor man, Elsa smiled as kindly as she was able to and nodded her head. Kristoff stuck out a mittened hand and said, "Kristoff," Elsa struggled to free her right arm from the longest hug she'd ever received and shook Kristoff's hand, her elbow bent at a strange angle. "Elsa," she responded.

Kristoff nodded at her, seemingly a bit more at ease now that he'd actually spoken to her, though she could see he was still far from comfortable. For the moment though, it was enough for Elsa. As she relaxed into her sister's embrace, she could feel an overwhelming warm spreading through her. It went all the way from her head to the tips of her toes. Had anyone chosen to glance down at that moment, they would have noticed that the snow beneath Elsa's feet had begun to thaw.

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**So there we are, I hope you liked this one. It was challenging trying to make Elsa's decision to go with Anna believable, so I hope I at least kind of convinced you. Let me know what you thought and, as I said, I'll try to be a bit quicker on the next update. See you next time! **


	13. Chapter 12

Kristoff trailed behind Anna and Elsa as the three made their way down the mountain. He felt hopelessly lost without Sven by his side. It had been decided that Kristoff's near-constant companion would be a bane to the covert operation they were undertaking, and so the reindeer had stayed behind with the trolls.

Now, hiking down the mountain in the bitter cold with two women he barely knew, Kristoff was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't have stayed behind as well.

He couldn't even pretend that he completely understood what had gone on back there with the sisters and Grand Pabbie. True, Kristoff had pieced together some of the story back at the Snow Queen's – _Elsa's_ – castle. That was, after all, the reason he'd brought the sisters to the trolls in the first place. Yet it seemed that he hadn't quite imagined the scope of the situation. He knew now that Anna was the little girl whose parents had come to his family for help many years ago, and he knew that Elsa was the witch who had frozen her. He'd also realized that the two were actually sisters, but Anna hadn't remembered that because her memories had been erased to prevent her brain from freezing solid. Sure, Kristoff understood the gist of the thing, it was more the why's and how's that he was shaky on.

Still, he'd already made a promise to help Anna, and Kristoff was not a man who went back on his word. So, after a few hours' fitful sleep and an awkward afternoon filled with hurried planning, here he was following the two sisters down the mountain as the sun began to dip below the western peaks.

Kristoff studied Elsa as he walked behind her, wracking his brain for memories of a time when Princess Anna had not been the sole heir to the Arendelle throne. Though he had been young at the time, he could vaguely recall the news that the king and queen's eldest daughter had passed away due to a fatal illness when she was a young girl. After the incident, the gates of the Arendelle Castle had been closed, and the people had been forbidden to speak of the deceased princess. With the passage of time, it had begun to seem as though the girl had never existed at all; that she was just a local myth shared by the townspeople when they thought no one was listening.

Yet here Elsa was, alive and well and, apparently, the true heir to the throne. It was all terribly confusing.

They had been walking for a few hours by now, and Arendelle had come into view before them, stretched out over the hills in the waning light. Elsa had stopped walking and Anna, who had taken the lead in their small procession, had not noticed. Kristoff slowed to a halt as well, clearing his throat to get Anna's attention.

Anna turned around, a few feet ahead of them, and noticed the halt in their progress. Making her way back, she said, "Elsa? Are you okay?"

Kristoff could not imagine how strange this must be for Anna. What must it be like to suddenly have your head filled with childhood memories of an apparent stranger? The Elsa that stood before them now was the same girl that Anna remembered from childhood, but so much time had passed since then. Anna barely knew this woman now, but she seemed to trust her absolutely.

The whole thing made Kristoff a bit uncomfortable. After all, he'd been hearing stories about the Snow Queen for a very long time. Kristoff had seen Elsa's powers firsthand and he would be lying if he said they didn't still frighten him somewhat. If it weren't for the endorsement she'd received from Grand Pabbie, Kristoff might not trust her at all.

Elsa still seemed skittish around them as well, though she was clearly much more comfortable with Anna, but she seemed to forget both of their presence for the moment as she dropped to her knees and breathed, "What have I done?"

It wasn't hard to determine Elsa's meaning. Even from this distance, it was plain to see the ways in which the long winter had affected Arendelle. Most of the homes were buried halfway deep in snow, and the fields where crops had grown were nothing but a blanket of white. Most obvious, however, was the frozen fjord. Arendelle had once been a great port city, but without access to the sea they had not been able to ship goods in many years. The merchants had eventually acclimated to trading their goods by way of land, but the loss had still been felt. Kristoff had seen all of this before. It was the way Arendelle had been as long as he could remember. Still, he supposed if the last memories you had of Arendelle were from before the long winter, the sight of it now would come as somewhat of a shock.

Anna approached carefully. They'd both seen what could happen when Elsa got upset. "You didn't mean to," Anna said.

Elsa looked up, eyes shining. "Does that make this any better?" she asked.

"_We'll_ make it better," Anna said, her face a mask of determination as she held out her hand to help Elsa up. Elsa studied her sister's hand for a few moments and then, very timidly, she slipped her own hand into it, flinching slightly as their skin touched. If Anna noticed the hesitation, she did not acknowledge it. Instead, she heaved with all her might, practically dragging Elsa back to her feet. The two shared a small smile.

Kristoff marveled again at how strong the bond seemed to be between the two. He supposed that even estranged and slightly dangerous family was still better than no family at all. Perhaps, if he'd found out about some long lost sibling, he would react in much the same way.

They were walking again now. Elsa still seemed thoroughly unsure of herself, but less so than she had only moments before. It was as though she drew strength from Anna's stubborn optimism. Strange though their bond was, Kristoff hoped it would be strong enough to face whatever lay ahead.

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They reached Arendelle under the cover of darkness, as had been their plan. Kristoff still wasn't sure what exactly their next move was. Anna had mentioned secret passageways, a trustworthy servant named Gerda, and an intent to confront Hans while his guard was down, but Kristoff was more just along for the ride.

Anna and Elsa both donned disguises as they approached, each hiding their face and clothing beneath a heavy cloak. Kristoff was inconspicuous enough, but Elsa's icy gown and almost other-worldly appearance would be bound to draw attention and Anna would be instantly recognizable for obvious reasons. The cloaks were still a tad suspicious, but with the cold weather they would not seem entirely out of the ordinary.

Yet as the trio crossed the frozen fjord and neared the castle, the first signs that something was amiss began to present themselves. The town that surrounded the castle was by no means the site of a bustling nightlife, but the sun went down early these days and it was still fairly early in the evening. Despite this, there was not a soul out on the streets. The town was so quiet that the sound of their footsteps echoing off the cobblestone streets seemed an unbearable racket. It was unsettling.

Kristoff glanced over at Anna and Elsa and could tell they were experiencing the same sense of unease. He could not see their faces, obscured as they were by the hoods of their cloaks, but the skittish nature of their movements spoke volumes.

They walked on for a few minutes more, but still they didn't come across another living soul. It didn't take long for Anna to voice the thought buzzing in each of their minds. "Something isn't right here," she said, glancing about as they continued on. Elsa and Kristoff did not respond, but their agreement with the statement was understood.

They passed onto a main street now, one that was lined with a number of bars and pubs and usually lively for hours after darkness had fallen. Drunken patrons frequented it every night of the week, filling the air with shouts and song. Yet even here it was deserted. The shops were all closed up tight for the night, and there was not a soul, drunken or otherwise, to be seen.

The three travelers paused here, now truly confused by the state of events. A moment later, Kristoff became aware of the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere to their right. Acting on instinct, he grabbed hold of Anna's wrist and pulled her into an alleyway between two buildings, clamping a hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't cry out. He'd expected Elsa to follow, but he realized to his horror that she'd heard the approaching men too late to run for cover.

They came into view now, three members of the royal guard, the shiny metal badges of their uniform reflecting the light of the torches that lined the road. They stopped a few feet from Elsa, who was twisting around in shock at suddenly having been abandoned by her two companions, and leveled their weapons at her.

"Halt!" the guard in the front demanded, though Elsa clearly was not moving, "Who goes there"

Elsa turned in their direction but said nothing. Her lack of response seemed to agitate the guards. "What are you doing on the streets after curfew?" one of them demanded. Still Elsa made no sound, though she had begun to back up by several paces.

The mention of a curfew confused Kristoff. It certainly explained the lack of people on the streets, but he was certain Arendelle had never had one before. He had no time to dwell on it however, because Anna had begun to struggle in his grasp. Kristoff removed the hand he'd had covering her mouth, but kept his other arm firmly around her waist.

Anna put her hands against Kristoff's arm, struggle to free herself. "Let me go!" she whispered frantically. "We have to help her!"

The guards were advancing on Elsa now, spurred forward by her attempts to retreat. "State your name," one of the guards demanded, his tone more dangerous this time.

What happened next occurred so quickly that it took Kristoff a few seconds to process. Elsa turned to flee, but one of the guards fired a shot at her, the bolt whizzing suddenly and unexpectedly from his crossbow. It had clearly been meant only to wound, not to kill, but Elsa reacted instinctively. She threw her hands up in front of her and a sheet of ice rose up at her command. The arrow pierced the ice halfway and remained there, frozen mere inches from its target.

For a few moments everything stopped as though time itself were holding its breath. Then, with a piercing cry of, "Witch!" the world seemed to speed back up in double time.

The three guards raised their weapons one more, all pointed at Elsa as though she were a viper preparing to strike. Elsa herself was still rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the sheet of ice she'd conjured as though not quite sure what she had done.

Then, just as Elsa drew forth another wall of ice to stop the three new arrows whizzing towards her, Anna cried out her sister's name. Kristoff clamped his hand back over her mouth immediately, but the damage was already done.

The three guards did not seem to have heard the cry, focused as they were on the action taking place, but Elsa did. Turning her gaze from the guards before her, she began to look around wildly as though to determine where Anna's voice had come from.

The momentary distraction was enough. Upon seeing that Elsa's guard was down, one of the guards rushed forward and rammed the butt of his crossbow into the back of her skull with all of his might. Elsa went down immediately, her hood fluttering off as she crumpled to the ground like a sack of stones.

* * *

**Alrighty, so there's the next chapter. Sorry again for the long wait. School has begun now and it's already kicking my butt even though it's only the third day of classes. I was about to mention that I'd missed getting this up before my birthday ended, but then I remembered that I'm an hour ahead and it's still technically my birthday for another hour in the states. So that's kind of cool.**

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one. Unfortunately there may be an even longer wait next time. I know where I want this story to go, and there's really not too much left before the end, but finding time to finish writing it is only going to become harder for me from here on out. I've got the next chapter after this one finished, but after that the rest remains to be written. I'm going to be working on it in whatever bits of free time I can manage for myself, but unfortunately it may be a while. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you next time!


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